I got to a point with this painting and wasn't sure exactly how to proceed. So slap on a shadow and call it finished! The lighting on this was tricky - there was a strong shadow across the back of the bird, and strong light in front, but it also had a lot of dark and light markings all over, so it was tricky getting it to "read" correctly. Also because of the lighting, the eye was pretty much just a black circle in my reference photo. In hindsight, I think this is the type of situation where an artist needs to use a little creative license and not paint literally. Another lesson learned!
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Painting 12 - Meadowlark
I got to a point with this painting and wasn't sure exactly how to proceed. So slap on a shadow and call it finished! The lighting on this was tricky - there was a strong shadow across the back of the bird, and strong light in front, but it also had a lot of dark and light markings all over, so it was tricky getting it to "read" correctly. Also because of the lighting, the eye was pretty much just a black circle in my reference photo. In hindsight, I think this is the type of situation where an artist needs to use a little creative license and not paint literally. Another lesson learned!
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4 comments:
...artists always have a license to be creative, right? I love what you did!! A great way to build a memory of a fabulous birding trip.
hose dark photographs always need a bit of artistic licence!
Sorry, it was supposed to read -
Well done! Those dark photographs always need a bit of artistic licence! I'm always too quick for these comment boxes!
Hmmm, I like this! Use a bit of water and a damp brush and lighten the upper right side of the eye just a bit. Then go get your Xacto knife and scratch out a highlight in the upper right as well - it will make your bird seem alive!
And always, always, always use your creative license! Especially when painting from a photo! You have the photo, you want the painting to be even better!
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