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.
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.
