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  • Post #7

Lilikins I don't think the most important thing is to paint it like it looks like a photo, the main important thing is the impression of the scene. That doesn't mean that I do not have respect of the great work of e.g. the mentioned Twix painting from @dracula - this was an amazing work. On the other hand your Christmas cat was also very realistic looking. If you plan e.g. a painting of buildings or any geometric shape after a photo, then the correct perspective (to me at least) is 100 times more important than painting every single irregularity in the surface of the walls.
I am not sure if I participate the event, as I have currently some ordered scenes to paint for friends and colleagues. But if, then I will most probably use watercolors, and with them I won't get photo realism, but it is not my goal.

    Mmm, a bit advanced for me i'm afraid.

    Tom0779 you are so right. Perspective and values are so important when it comes to painting something realistic.

    tel same here but I’m still gonna try 😜 That’s the whole point of these contests - try something new and get out of our comfort zone. When I try something new I always go through a stage when I’m like “that’s super ugly”. But if it gets ugly, just keep painting through until it’s something not ugly. If it gets REAL ugly even after working on it for awhile...well that’s what gesso is for. My Santa ozzybear painting had a really ugly start - I accidentally gave him a tentacle beard. I’ll have to see if I can post the photo - it’s hilariously bad.

        I wanted it to look like he was resting his head on the branches of a Christmas tree and instead what I got was a tentacle beard.
        All bow down to Cthulhu Ozzybear!

        Tom0779 I like that idea! Although the idea of painting a human face reminds me of the Jesus painting in Spain that some lady tried to “fix” and she ended up creating “monkey Jesus”. I have a feeling mine would end up looking just as goofy.

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          • Post #17

          Lilikins well I think everyone should choose his own type of painting. There are also very famous landscapes without humans which you can use. The Mona Lisa was just an example...

              @Felix I’ve started my painting but I just noticed on the paintmyphoto website that the reference photos can’t be posted anywhere outside the website without the photographers permission. That’s pretty difficult since there doesn’t appear to be way to private message anyone. Can I just post a link to the reference photo? If not no biggie!

                Thank you for the event Felix. As a novice painter I want to learn but I don't take it too seriously, I just want to enjoy it. I asked for an event painting from a photo because I wanted others to share the enjoyment I found when I painted my cave waterfall. It was the most enjoyment I have experienced so far since I started painting. For me it was about unravelling the layers in the photo so that everything got painted in the right order and laying the foundations for further layers. It really made me think about how I was going to transform the image into an oil painting before I got my brushes out. I felt I got that part right so that in itself was very satisfying. This was new to me, and as the painting came together I felt a great deal of excitement as each element was added. The finished painting is not exactly the same as the photo, I never expected it to be, but it's pretty close. I think that painting from photographs is a great alternative to copying another painters work or following a tutorial although both are of those methods are brilliant. Painting from photos opens up so many more opportunities, from the internet or from your own camera. A year ago I would not have believed I could do this, and now I feel like I could do that painting all over again just from memory, previously unimaginable! I'll be entering a painting from a photo taken last year just outside my house. Enjoy the event everyone, I can't wait to see what you do with it.

                TheLandscapePainter it so fantastic to hear about your thoughts and feelings during painting! I totally agree with you about thinking and rethinking how to convert a photo in the painting. I am excited on the project I am working as it may go any direction. It feels like I am discovering uncharted waters!

                  hi all!
                  i'm really pleased to have found this lovely group - i've extricated myself from the world of social (!?) media and was worried i'd be alone in the world when it came to needing painting advice or support etc.
                  i've not yet applied oil to canvas - this sunday will be my first attempt at a BR picture (Mountain Summit from the BR painting kit) but i'm eager to learn more in the way of art because i know that if not pushed i'll stick to landscapes and not try other things.
                  are these events open to everyone, no matter how much of a newb they are? i'd love to use them as a tool to push myself to do different things if you lovely people don't mind suffering my probably very painful on the eyes efforts.