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Is it the paint or is it the painter.
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Message
Posted
Well folks, how soon do you reckon? How soon do you think the copy/don't copy merry-go-round will come our way again....3 weeks...3 months...3 years??
To copy or not to copy, that's the crutch of the problem (to quote dear old Hylda Baker...she of the 'Hello, I don't think you've had the pleasure of me yet'... fame).
I'll be doing my own thing, whether it's copying every pixel of a photo, or not using them at all. I expect you will too.
Poor Dixie's thread got well and truly hi-jacked, and driven into the deep dark woods.
Posted
No apology needed from anyone , it what the forum is for , a place where we can express how we feel about a particular subject etc. It have been a interesting debate , I bit out of hand , in not sure it did , it is emotional fir some people obviously.
I’m suite pleased that it has I hope for a while put the subject bed. Like Lew’s view though , won’t be long before it bites us again. On another note as they say, in so pleased that your and Sams book is coming on so well Sylvia.
Posted
It’s debate! It’s a forum… that’s what forums do! Nobody is stamping their feet and demanding that we paint or do things in a certain way, we’re merely expressing our own opinions, as we are all entitled to do!
Of course there will be disagreements over some issues, there will never be a consensus of opinion, people are different!
Let’s move on please… until the next time!
Edited
by Alan Bickley
Posted
If I had a magic wand 🪄would be nice to gather us all together at a lovely restaurant with hi teas. Cosy sofas to relax on and chat away all artists together. 🎨 I do like the painters online I do wander what it would be like to actually meet all you artists. I feel i know some of you and connected Bit random. 😁
Posted
This is a really interesting forum chat. Re materials over time I have invested in better quality oils as I have found they do make real difference (Michael Harding for me is great for their elusive butteriness) but when I use acrylics then Daler Rowney do just the job fine. As for photos, I use photos for reference when painting portraits, animal or people, for exactly the reasons Alan gives. But I also paint from life. Combination works best for me. What I would say though is that sometimes I've been given a photo of someone I don't know and these never work out particularly well because, yes, they are flat as I can't put in what I can't see. I find it's essential to 'know' the person or animal so that if only able to work from a photo I can incorporate what I see or know as their character and that makes all the difference in whether I feel I have captured their personality. Of course, to an outsider that might not make too much of a difference when viewing the finished painting but to the person who's asked me to do something I'm on tenderhooks because I'm never sure whether I have really captured that spirit or essence of someone that makes them what they are and recognisable to their loved ones.
Posted
Excellent comment and observations regarding working from photos Heather, I think a good many on here (not all), share similar views.
Working from life suits me better personally, but there’s obviously occasions when we can’t for a whole host of reasons.
I’ve no particularly issues with either, but I do like to see a bit of artistic flair being used!
Posted
Heather, I’m with you entirely. Painting a family member say, is easier in one respect, harder in another. Easier because there is emotion there, harder because you know when you haven’t quite “ caught” the person. We all make use of photos in some way, it’s how we use them to get the best result. Russell, for instance, adds something more I feel than the photo might give ( hope he doesn’t mind me saying that). At the moment I’m “zinging”. Just finished a little oil, set up in front of me - and finished from a PHOTO plus the fruit to examine. I’ve enjoyed every second! The colours, the feel of the paint, the repainting of the pomegranate when it all went wrong….do I dare spend this afternoon painting again, there’s work to be done in the garden!