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Painting From Photos
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Message
Posted
This subject is always interesting, and won't go away. On occasion I use photos, sometimes just bits of them. I think we'll always use them in some way...exact copies may be a useful exercise but cannot represent your 'OWN' work. Mostly I change things. Artists have used them since photography was invented. A favourite artist - Toulouse Lautrec - said he preferred working from photos...the subject doesn't fidget, need breaks, or tell you about their horrible landlord. He was quite open about it...I've attached a portrait with the ref photo he used...you can see he made it his own.
An inescapable drawback is the copyright issue. So either take your own, use copyright free photos, or risk someone suing you. Probably a small risk. Right this moment there will be hundreds of artists busy copying photos with no permission, chances are only a minute proportion will get into trouble. It would be a poisoned chalice if you had huge success with a painting (copied from a photo) only to be sued by the copyright owner.
Posted
I appreciate all good work no matter how it is achieved. To have conceptualized and delivered an excellent piece is a talent to be admired. I adore those plein air paintings where the artist is caught up in a relationship with the elements. I equally admire the painstaking hours spent on hyper realist works. For me the real pull is the idea, the subject. If a piece moves me in any way, it's a thumbs up from me. If you are looking to sell your work you'd be wise to observe the copy right rules. Other than that there aren't any rules, why should there be?
Posted
More wonderful replies, there, and well said. The issue of copyright is always a thorny subject, especially in landscape work, where the land or view can not be copyrighted but the image can! You can't, for example, claim ownership of Striding Edge but you can claim ownership of a particular image of Striding Edge, should it be obvious. EG a glorious sunset with a flock of geese skirting the edge. CCo photos and your own photos avoid these issues, but it's a minefield to walk through. Asking for permission is a good idea because the owner can only say yes or no, if you can contact the owner that is. Anyway, thanks to all for an extremely fruitful exchange of thoughts and recommendations. Glad I asked because you've more or less given credence to my initial feelings on the subject.
Best to all
Bri
Posted
Can I play devil's advocate and re-introduce the question of digital projectors ? . If you are working from a photo , how are you transferring the image ( or parts of it ) into your drawing ? . I was on this forum a while back asking for opinions about projectors - my idea was ( still is ) to take MY OWN photos , then project parts onto my canvas or board in order to build up a paintable picture consisting of several elements quite possibly from several photos . I am now 71 and as stated before I consider I don't have enough years left to " get good " in the drawing stakes , though my painting is reasonable . So for me its all about saving time . I know some of you advised that projectors are not all they are cracked up to be , but having now seen that Artograph is too expensive but I have seen one at a mere £252 so I am very tempted to take the plunge . If you not using a projector to transfer your photos , whats your method ? . Just interested .
Steve
Posted
I actually enjoy this initial drawing process, either when scaling up with a grid or just transferring the image by eye.
There is more satisfaction for me personally that tracing or copying from an image. Many will find this process a necessary evil prior to painting, but I enjoy this important stage of my work, just as much as the painting.
We all know that drawing is the fundamental backbone of art, so why not embrace it and challenge yourself. I am able to draw accurately, but this wasn't always the case, it's something that I worked hard to achieve and hone this vital discipline over the years - you won't achieve any level of skill if you resort to mechanical aids.
Posted
I know a painter from Manchester Academy of Fine Arts called Norman Long — he has these excellent 10-minute talks about painting from photos vs. painting from life, and the ability to improvise in developing composition. Not hugely in-depth and quite accessible, but worth a watch, I think.
Part 1: https://youtu.be/Fe0qKPHUHYk
Part 2: https://youtu.be/qzAqwM1jTkQ
Posted
Very interesting comments, especially the points made about photorealism over hyperrealism. I'm nearly finished a pastel series of the South Shields coastal area (posting the last one soon) and every time I look at them I feel a twinge of emotion. BUT, that's because of all those memories, and I know it's sometimes difficult for the viewer to feel what the artist feels. Similarly, when writing a poem, beginners are always advised to use imagery as a means of conveying emotion, and to show rather than tell, to bring the readers into the heart of the poem and help them to FEEL what the poet feels. It's not easy but you know it when you read it. I think scenery can speak for itself but if the artist can add something extra, like colour, contrast, drama, natural action, movement, serenity, startling beauty or at least an attempt at some of these things, then it's not unreasonable to suggest we can bring an essence of poetry into art. How much is up to the individual, but don't you like to feel something when you look at any work of art, and more importantly (arguably) when you produce a work of art (rhetorical questions)? Of course, what we intend to produce and what we actually produce can be two different things altogether, which is both bane and boon. The photo, it would seem, through this excellent and reasoned discussion, can be friend and foe to the artist, depending on how much the artist is prepared to, or able to, apply much of the above to the painting etc. Is it possible to define that certain "je ne sais quoi" that artists have strived for, for centuries, and does the photo have its place in the attempt? I'd say it does.
I've enjoyed reading this thread and the varying opinions proffered by all concerned.
Best to all
Bri
Posted
Hi Beemax, just to let you know I also use photographs for my paintings. However I would emphasise these are my own photos which I take when travelling around the country etc. I cannot be bothered painting or drawing in situ and like to paint in the comfort of my own home, I can at least have a cup of tea or coffee and a tuna and beetroot sandwich, or have a sit down when I need to. So yes, it's ok to paint from photos as far as I am concerned, Ray Perez