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Fiction versus fact when painting
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Posted
Certainly not a beginners thing - we all (well most of us) need a reference point to start from even if we do adjust it and play around with it as we go along. It doesn't apply so much to abstracts although I do have a general idea of where I'm heading when I start out - even though I do often end up in a totally different direction.
Posted
David ,I paint a lot of pictures using my memory and imagination and it is not so easy as doing them without a reference such as a photo you have taken somewhere. I am past the stage of romping in the countryside and hence the above . In a photo you can generally see the light source and the various shadows , cloud shadows, cast shadows which all go to describe the subject .
However , when you have no reference you must establish a light source and where the light is falling and all the shadow areas and changes of tone and colour not to mention perspective.If all this rings a bell for you ,as Sylvia says , use areference where possible and you cut out a lot of the brainwork required without a reference, such as a photo which is only a guide (and not a copy) to a successful painting ......Syd
Posted
An artist needs talent, a good visual memory and years of practice to create convinving paintings or drawings from memory. I can't .
Another problem I have is that if I use my detailed sketches to do further drawings or paintings, the results aren't very good. To me it's a tedious way of working. I'd much rather paint from the real subject. Even painting from a photo is better than painting from one of my sketches.
Edited
by keora