Painting from life has always been the classic and most beneficial way to learn how to paint. But not all of us will have the luxury of access to a life model or local drawing class, particularly during the lockdown. A great alternative for honing your skills is, of course, painting from photographs.
If done right, working from photographs can be a really good way to practice your drawing and painting skills. In this article, I will talk you through a more advanced way of painting a picture from a photograph. This will involve explaining what to look for when choosing a reference photo, how to go about painting it, and how to make adjustments.
When choosing your photograph, it’s important to choose one that has three main qualities. Firstly, it should have clear shadows. Secondly, it should be sharp. Thirdly, it shouldn’t be either under- or overexposed.
If you compare an overexposed photo with a more accurately taken portrait, you can see the differences. Overexposed images barely register the colour of a person’s skin as it is almost completely white. A better reference photo should display a clear shadow area, any details will be clearly visible and the colour of the skin will be more true to life.
When you have chosen your photograph, you can print it out or have it open on your laptop. Ideally, the photo should be as near to the actual size of your painting as possible. Sabina is one of the models featured on the Raw Umber Studios’ YouTube channel, where I am hosting a weekly session on painting and drawing from photographs.
1 DRAWING
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Denne historien er fra July 2020-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Still life IN 3 HOURS
Former BP Portrait Award runner-up FELICIA FORTE guides you through a simple, structured approach to painting alla prima that tackles dark, average and light colours in turn
Movement in composition
Through an analysis of three masterworks, landscape painter and noted author MITCHELL ALBALA shows how you can animate landscape composition with movement
Shane Berkery
The Irish-Japanese artist talks to REBECCA BRADBURY about the innovative concepts and original colour combinations he brings to his figurative oil paintings from his Dublin garden studio
The Working Artist
Something old, something new... Our columnist LAURA BOSWELL has expert advice for balancing fresh ideas with completing half-finished work
Washes AND GLAZES
Art Academy’s ROB PEPPER introduces an in-depth guide to incorporating various techniques into your next masterpiece. Artwork by STAN MILLER, CHRIS ROBINSON and MICHELE ILLING
Hands
LAURA SMITH continues her new four-part series, which encourages you to draw elements of old master paintings, and this month’s focus is on capturing hands
Vincent van Gogh
To celebrate The Courtauld’s forthcoming landmark display of the troubled Dutch master’s self-portraits, STEVE PILL looks at the stories behind 10 of the most dramatic works on display
BRING THE drama
Join international watercolour maestro ALVARO CASTAGNET in London’s West End to paint a dramatic street scene
Serena Rowe
The Scottish painter tells STEVE PILL why time is precious, why emotional responses to colour are useful, and how she finds focus every day with the help of her studio wall
Bill Jacklin
Chatting over Zoom as he recovers from appendicitis, the Royal Academician tells STEVE PILL about classic scrapes in New York and his recent experiments with illustration
