A Problem with Photos as a Painting Reference - Painting & Drawing Tips

The Weather is Warm and Eeeeeevyone is OUTSIDE!!

Walking the streets, strolling the parks, hiking the trails.

HOW can you help it, the outdoors is calling.  

And of course you see beautiful sights.

Partners at the Creek - Rocks, Moss & Leaves: I love zooming in on Nature

 TONS of pictures are taken. 

And many used for reference in Art Studios.  

I am TOTALLY one of those people!!! 

As I have been working away teaching a class on making ink drawing and watercolour work together, I have definitely been using photo references. This has lead me to see a problem with them.

The Shadows. . . . 

When you take that beautiful picture your phone camera makes most of the decisions for you.  It decides the light and dark, the amount of detail to capture and the colour to reproduce it.  You get to pick the composition.  Most of the time things are fine.  The partnership seems to work.  

However, 

There seems to be 'buts' and 'however's' with many working partnerships.  This is one of them.  

When looking at the shadows on the rocks I had my students drawing,  I realized the picture did not tell the same story about the shadows that I was telling.  

Reflected light affects the Core Shadow and the Cast Shadow

I was talking about things like shadows having hard and soft edges and variations in values.  This could be seen in some areas but in others not so much.  The photo said "Dark".  "One value." "All sharp edges". 

 

A Value Scale: Think of the White as 1 and the Black as 10.  

If you were sitting on the bank looking at the rocks, you know you would see more. 

The Shadow sides of the rocks were all Very Dark (Value 10)

Reflected light plays a big part in shadows.  As the shadow moves further away from the most shaded spot (usually some kind of crevice) reflected light hits it and reduces its value (darkness). So the Photo may report it as a 10 (Black) but as the shadow spreads out it becomes a 9 or 8 or even less depending on how much reflected light there is.   

Reflected light gets into areas Direct Light can't reach. 

As the reflected light is not as strong as the direct light it can only soften and lighten the shadow, not get rid of it. As a result the edge of the shadow will also become softer, not so sharp.  These subtle changes are not reported by the camera as its reproduction is based on pixels which must be either dark or light.  No gray area.  (Of course if you zoom in on the picture until it is almost unrecognizable, you will see the changes) 

The Shadow of the rock has a Sharp & Soft edge and Dark and Lighter Value

As you can see on my cropping for the closer rock (well, I hope you can without too much zooming) the area in the left is the darkest.  As it should be.  Very little light can get into that area.  However, moving up and out of that area there is more opportunity for light to reach in.  The moss begins to appear.  There are some disappearing edges, and soft dark greens forming.  In a sense you are seeing into the shadows more and more as your eye moves to the right.  

Of course, depending on the size of the picture you are painting, that will decide how much information to give in the shadow area.  A smaller picture might only hint at the depth while a larger, closer study would show more.  

Trickling Water - 16 x 20, Ink & Watercolour $650 

I find one of the interesting features of the rocks in Trickling Water is you have a sense of seeing into the shadows.  Particularly the purple one in at the top center.  That pink on the shadow side of the rock really gives the feel that your eyes are following the reflected light into the shadowy darks of the rock. 

I hope the resolution of the picture allows you to see the shadows on the moss covered rocks as well. They are closer to the foreground and further from the direct light.  The moss creates a dark hanging curtain to keep the light out.  However I think you should be able to see the largest one in the midground has a pink glow in the shadows. This glow gives an interesting sense of depth and life to the shadow.  

Bare in mind, the shadows of those rocks are very dark.  My point is, that although most of the shadow is definitely a 10, there are areas that would and could be painted as an 8 or 9.  The photograph does not give you the impression that it thecase.  However, if you saw it in life you would certainly agree with me.  

On your next walk by a rocky stream, take a picture and compare it to life.  Better still, join me for and Outdoor Sketching Adventure.  There are lots more little lies that your photos tell.  

Outdoor Sketching Classes - On Now!!

Outdoor Sketching Classes are 2.5 hr sessions and located in parks in North Surrey and North Langley.  Beginners to Advanced are Welcome.  Mediums supported: watercolour, pen, pencil, watercolour pencils and coloured pencils.  You can sign up to as many sessions as you like.  Class Size: Max 3.  $50 per session.  

Class Dates: 
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Sept 1: 10-12:30pm 

Arrangements made for inclement weather.  
You are welcome to contact me for help in organizing your supplies for an Outing.  

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Do you want your animals to breath, your flowers to sparkle or your people to walk?  Whatever subject your like to paint or draw I can build a drawing program for you.  Private Lessons allow you to focus on the skills you wish to develop.  Wendy is a experienced teacher, providing a calm, relaxing experience as you learn how to use the principles of drawing.  Beginner to Advanced are welcome.  Special rates for younger students.  Contact Wendy for More info

2.  Online: Teaching, Mentoring or Critiquing Your Work - Don't live in the Fraser Valley,  I would be happy to tailor a program just for you online.  Drawing and Painting Lessons, Mentoring you on your Art Journey or Critiquing Your Work with an Eye to Move It Forward.  Drawing & Painting Lessons: 2-30 sessions $75.  Mentoring or Critiquing 30 minutes sessions $25.  Flexible schedule and sessions can be longer or shorter depending on your goals. 

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Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy