HOW TO PAINT SUCCESSFULLY FROM A PHOTOGRAPH

 I am a painter, whose art is inspired by the photos that I take. Every day, I walk around, my world, with some type of a camera. I snap pictures inspired by the beauty of my world or the wonderful people I meet.

The blog you are reading is a tutorial to help art students understand the methods that I use and teach for using personal photos as inspiration for painting whether it be with  any medium. 

 This art project began with watching small birds enjoying the seeds in my bird feeder. Setting up my camera on a tripod, I was able to "discreetly" watch & take pictures of my feathered friends while they enjoyed their meal.
The resultant photo was one that I thought my students would enjoy working on in one of my "Fearless painting" water color classes.

Thus, begins a new adventure in painting with watercolors! Shall we let the fun begin as we explore the possibilities of creating a work of art inspired by this photograph?

A simple line drawing inspired by my photo.

I find that creating a simple line drawing or as I think of it, a road map to success is the best way to begin. There are many ways to draft an image onto watercolor paper. The drawing can be done freehand by studying the picture and comparing placement of lines and shapes. But, an easier method is to print a copy of the image to the same measurements of the watercolor paper and use a graphite paper.



​My favorite product is Seral graphite paper. If a copy paper is not available, not to fear, it is very easy to make your own graphite paper!



Watch my video , from my YouTube site on how to make your own graphite copying paper.

Once, I have complete a drawing, with a 3B semi-soft pencil, on my watercolor paper I am ready to begin making choices about the values I need to use, relative to the original photo.

I do this by turning my photo into a black & white image, so that I am better able to see  a range of values in the photo. I begin by assigning a #1 for the lightest lights ( or white of the paper) and for each of the darker values I assign a larger number 2 ( medium light),3
( slightly darker), moving up the scale 4,5 each getting darker & finally when I get to #6
​(I know that these regions will be the darkest areas of my painting).

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Black and white photo of the bird feeder.

Next , I pick out the colors that I will use to describe my feelings about the subject matter. I choose a warm and cool version of each of my primary colors.
For this painting, I chose : new gamboge & hansa yellow, Permanent alizarin, organic vermillion crimson, pthalo blue (green) and ultramarine blue.

1st wash of watercolors.

I began the painting by wetting the paper and dropping onto the wet surface diluted wc paint. 

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2nd wash of wc paint.

Letting the paper dry, I then began creating imaginative shapes with subsequent washes of color, which eventually will become my slightly darker areas - think values 2 or 3.

I work by painting a series of multiple layers one on top of each other, slowly building up both the color saturation & deeper values as I work.
In this photo, you can see where I am painting with a medium dark mixture of
pthalo blue +new gamboge + a smidgen of my crimson. I am isolating my lightest shapes by painting  darker forms next door or around where I want the light pine needles to be. This technique is referred to as "negative painting" which means painting not the object it self, but the "negative" areas around the object.
 

Layering darker values of paint.

I am continuously comparing my painting to my original photo, looking to find and create shapes that will enhance my composition and center of interest.

Comparing photo to painting.

Glaze of organic vermillion wc over feeder.

I glaze warm washes over the bird feeder to make it bolder & bring it's form out by adding to the intensity of the color from my previous washes of paint.  

Brush strokes of success.

Then, I use cooler wash-glazes or strokes to describe the shadow regions which enhances the tree foliage. I continue to work to push the foliage region further into the background by layering with darker and cooler colors.
The more layers I paint, in those regions where I use darks, the more I create a push/pull effect when placed next to a "light".

My painting at the mid stage point.

There are many techniques that I can use to create the appearance of different surfaces. Using a natural sponge is a great method of creating texture on the tree trunk by putting a small amount of watercolor paint onto my sponge, dabbing the sponge onto a paper towel and than lightly touching the sponge to my WC paper. This "printing" method creates a dry mark that leaves a lot of texture on my paper.

Sponge printing for printing tree bark texture.

The combination of mark making using a brush or a sponge on both wet and dry paper creates a painterly look throughout my composition. My goal is to create marks that describe a subject's surface, such as the rough surface of the tree's bark.

​Splattering paint with my brush is a fun method of creating patterns on my paintings. By using paper towels , I can protect areas of the painting where I do not want expressive splatter.

Using paper towels to block areas from splatter

I used the splatter technique to abstractly create the illusion of the bird seed in the feeder.

Close up of bird seed splatter.

Before my eyes, in time, a painting develops. Now is the time that I must study my composition. I am looking to find areas where I may want to draw a viewer's eye into my subject matter. I do this through a careful placement of glazing darks next to my lights and using warm hues around my center of interest. I will also add more cool colors in specific areas in order to make the background appear to recede into space. This will create a bit of visual drama in my composition. When I feel that I have nothing more to add to my painting, I know that I am done.
Here is my finished painting a transparent watercolor on 140 lb cold press wc paper that measures 13 x 17.

"The bird feeder" © Beattie 2024

"The bird feeder" (c) Elise Beattie
13 x 17 transparent wc on paper.

Thank you for visiting this blog post. If you would like to learn more about my artwork I invite you to visit my web site  www.beattieartworks.com

Are you interested in learning more about painting fearlessly with watercolors or acrylics? Please visit my art classes page, where you can register for my Fearless Painting classes? Here is a link to my in-person and online art programs for painting with watercolors or acrylics. 
https://www.beattieartworks.com/art-classes.

#art , #fearless painting , #Elise Beattie , #art classes , #painting , #watercolors

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