Google Goggling

I often take close-up pictures of paintings at museums.  I think it's so cool to be able to sit in one's studio and ponder the brushstrokes and edge quality that such close-ups provide.  It appears that Google thinks so too. They've introduced a new tool called "Art Project."  It looks amazing.

Amazing Skill

A hero of mine ever since I saw him in action on TV in my younger years:

The Flintstone Camera Pterodactyl

Dedicated to All Literalists

A friend of mine from NJ sent this Dilbert cartoon to me.  Enjoy.  

While this cartoon can apply to many aspects of life, I do remember the first time a teacher ever told me that I didn't have to paint exactly what was in front of me.  This advice was extremely freeing, as my eight-year-old fingers were having a really hard time painting 5 rows on the base of the goblet in my still-life.  She said - just put three in - later explaining that every realist painting is both selective and an abbreviation.  Thanks Helen.

PS - I bet this guy could do a 7 minute painting no sweat.  

Step Away From the Painting

You may have seen this before, but it illustrates an important point.

Look at this picture.  Can you recognize the face?  

Original image here.

Now, turn around, walk about 15 feet away from the screen and look again.  Who do you see now?  (By the way, if you squint you don't have to get quite that far away.)

What's going on?

What's going on is that our initial interpretation of the picture is based on the little details - the lines and small shapes.  As we back away, these little details get swallowed up in the broader masses and we see a different picture all together.

Imagine this picture as a large commissioned portrait painting.  The unveiling would have been hilarious.  Those at the front, Einstein and friends, would have seen an artsy yet recognizable portrait.  Those in the audience would see Einstein gladly admiring his likeness. . . which would be confusing since it would look like Marilyn Monroe to them.  Einstein would then be confused at their laughter, which would do nothing to restrain their mirth, and the entire unveiling would later be hailed a Dadaist masterpiece.   

If you are a painter you might want to avoid this unfortunate scenario in your own unveilings, and if you do, you simply need to take a few steps back from your painting every now and then so that you make sure your details and masses are harmonious.  Squinting can help too.  

It is said that "Those who watched Sargent painting in his studio were reminded of his habit of stepping backwards after almost every stroke of the brush on the canvas, and the tracks of his paces so worn on the carpet that it suggested a sheep-run through the heather." - from the notes of Miss Heyneman, who studied with Sargent.

For Painters: Don't Get Used to Errors

Look at this picture - Maybe something's a little off with the face on the right - but hey - you can still tell it's Margaret.

Now scroll down to see the same photos right side up.

When seen right side up, the differences between the right and left portraits are now apparent. . . freakishly apparent.

(I found these photos here.)

This illustration has application to painting.

First of all:  Don't paint your subject's smile and eyes upside down if their face is right side up, it will look super creepy.

And, secondly - Painting is often a process of refinement and if you get too used to something it will be hard to see the errors.

When I was in college I participated in a figure-painting class where we painted a full-length painting of a model for 3 hours twice a week for 8 weeks.  I had a pretty good start to the model's head, so I left it and worked out the rest of the body.  I had an idea where the hair was to go, but I left the hair out for several weeks.  I knew that the hair needed to go on the model's head, but seeing the painting for so many hours without it, I became used to that look.  I still remember the shock I felt at seeing the head change so dramatically with the addition of the hair.  The hair simply didn't look right - it changed the shape of her head and I was used to the old shape.  If the hair hadn't been a separate element (as in the placement of the eyes, or the angle of the jaw) I probably would have removed it, thinking that it just wasn't right.

Here are several steps for combatting this issue:

• Work from the general to the specific.  I should have painted more of the shape of the hair in the beginning stages of the painting, so that it's addition later on wasn't so jarring.

• Just like the photos above, alter the view a bit.  Turn the painting upside down or look at it's reflection in a mirror.  You could also look at the painting through a reducing lens (opposite of a magnifying glass).  These new views can show you errors and awkward areas of your painting that you had simply become used to.  Errors usually yell at us at first, but they'll eventually become hoarse and lose their voice as we become used to them.

• Step Back - This is the vantage point that most of those who see the painting will have.  Color, value, and spatial relationships should be painted with this fact in mind.

• Always be checking relationships - Facebook is good for this (Just Kidding).  Spatial, color, and value relationships to be specific.  This is how you refine your painting - let the parts unify the whole.

• Never "settle" - Figure out the problem and fix it.  Settling, when you know there is an error, is weak.  If you know something is not right, but you don't know what it is, I offer a few suggestions.  You could set the painting aside for an hour/day/week/month and come back to it with fresh eyes.  You could ask a trusted advisor for clues.  You could take a class or workshop and then return to the painting with new skills.  Whatever you do, just don't settle.

If you need any impetus to summon forth the effort to fix your errors, think of these Margaret Thatcher photos!  (But don't think about them too much - they're really pretty creepy - although entertainingly creepy!)

White Test on Gurney Journey

James Gurney, creator of Dinotopia, shares wit, info, and news on a daily basis via his blog Gurney Journey.  Frankly, it is considered to be one of the best blogs out there for realist artists.  I stop in daily and always leave holding at least a nugget - but at times a bucketload - of insight.

Here is a tiny sampler:

Is Moonlight Blue?
Unicycle Painter
Scumbling
Light and Form, Part 1

Yesterday the "White Test" was honored with a post.  Thanks James.

Online Color Challenge - By Request

Try your hand at this visual puzzle from the color folks at x-rite.  See how many times it takes you to get a perfect score - it might be harder than you think.  This used to be posted on my old blog and it's back by request.  This is for you Jamie!