We put a lot of pressure on artists (on ourselves) to be original. We think we should be able to turn that blank canvas into something no one has seen before, something totally authentic, illuminating and wondrous. Truth is, people aren’t very good at being original. Inventing totally new things from scratch is nearly impossible for us. What we’re really good at is taking something and altering it slightly. Copying is one step, altering slightly is the next.
Use photos as a jumping off point. The painting must be allowed to be it’s own image, not confined to match the photo. If you find yourself saying “I copied the photograph perfectly, so my painting must be good,” check yourself.
Below is a blog post illustrating how some impressionist paintings were born from photographs. Photography was new then, and likely very exciting. It caused painters to question what the point of painting was, if an image could be captured in a click. It also allowed painters to play with a new tool, which ended up changing how they recorded moments, movement, and how they established compositions. For example, Degas’ hazy figures, some cut off at the edge of the frame, to my knowledge did not occur until photography hacked them off with the shutter click.
You can see how the painters used the photographs as inspiration, collaged them, altered them, and the painting was made “original” from that process.
Wherever you are in this process, enjoy it.
[image_with_animation image_url=”1185″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In
FAMOUS IMPRESSIONISTS COPIED PHOTOGRAPHS
Source: http://www.fogonazos.es/2006/11/famous-painters-copied-photopraphs_06.html
No invention of the Industrial Revolution influenced Impressionism more than the camera. Most of the Impressionists had cameras and experimented with their new images. Photography inspired impressionists to capture the moment, but did you know that some of the most famous paintings of Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec or Paul Gauguin were inspired on an original photograph? Here you have some interesting examples:
[image_with_animation image_url=”8694″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] This spring, my Friday nights are going to be in an Unconventional Portraits class. These Friday night classes have become my night to do whatever I think would be the most fun thing to do. This quarter I got most excited thinking about Unconventional Portraits. This is not a realist class …
The Nancy Margolis Gallery in NY is currently displaying “Midnight Sun”, an exhibition by Seattle Artist League instructor Charity Baker. The show features figurative landscapes in both small scale plein-air and large scale studio paintings. The collection aims to examine the psychological effects of perpetual sunlight. Yearning to reconnect with nature during the global pandemic, …
Catherine Lepp’s latest series of watercolors presents a striking yet delicate blend of colors on rice paper. I’m delighted to share some of her newest works with you. You can see right away that these watercolors are not painted on the typical cold press watercolor paper. This paper is smooth, delicate, ethereal. Catherine Lepp is …
Exercise your creativity This SAL Challenge is a vocabulary based creative challenge every day for January. Materials are artist’s choice. You can draw, paint, sew, collage, sculpt your food, anything you want. See below for today’s creative challenge. Set the timer for 20 minutes and see what happens. AGASTOPIA n. – admiration of a particular …
Impressionists and Photography
PAINTING FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
We put a lot of pressure on artists (on ourselves) to be original. We think we should be able to turn that blank canvas into something no one has seen before, something totally authentic, illuminating and wondrous. Truth is, people aren’t very good at being original. Inventing totally new things from scratch is nearly impossible for us. What we’re really good at is taking something and altering it slightly. Copying is one step, altering slightly is the next.
Use photos as a jumping off point. The painting must be allowed to be it’s own image, not confined to match the photo. If you find yourself saying “I copied the photograph perfectly, so my painting must be good,” check yourself.
Below is a blog post illustrating how some impressionist paintings were born from photographs. Photography was new then, and likely very exciting. It caused painters to question what the point of painting was, if an image could be captured in a click. It also allowed painters to play with a new tool, which ended up changing how they recorded moments, movement, and how they established compositions. For example, Degas’ hazy figures, some cut off at the edge of the frame, to my knowledge did not occur until photography hacked them off with the shutter click.
You can see how the painters used the photographs as inspiration, collaged them, altered them, and the painting was made “original” from that process.
Wherever you are in this process, enjoy it.
[image_with_animation image_url=”1185″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In
FAMOUS IMPRESSIONISTS COPIED PHOTOGRAPHS
Source: http://www.fogonazos.es/2006/11/famous-painters-copied-photopraphs_06.html
No invention of the Industrial Revolution influenced Impressionism more than the camera. Most of the Impressionists had cameras and experimented with their new images. Photography inspired impressionists to capture the moment, but did you know that some of the most famous paintings of Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec or Paul Gauguin were inspired on an original photograph? Here you have some interesting examples:
[nectar_image_comparison image_url=”1190″ image_2_url=”1191[nectar_image_comparison image_url=”1192″ image_2_url=”1193[nectar_image_comparison image_url=”1194″ image_2_url=”1195[nectar_image_comparison image_url=”1197″ image_2_url=”1196 Paul Cezanne [nectar_image_comparison image_url=”1198″ image_2_url=”1199
Paul Gauguin
2. Paul Cezanne
3. Toulouse Lautrec
4. Vincent Van Gogh
5. Edgar Degas
Coming soon: More examples from Toulouse Lautrec, Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Degas, and more!
Original post: http://www.aloj.us.es/galba/MONOGRAFICOS/LOFOTOGRAFICO/POSTIMPRESIONISTAS
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