Do you work from photographs?

[Lee]

Hi Everyone,
I just spent a very frustrating weekend trying to do a self portrait while looking in the mirror. I'm a beginning artist so I don't expect to do a masterpiece, but I can't even get a likeness. I've drawn other people from photographs, and these come out much better. So, I was wondering if most portraits are drawn from photos or real life, and if anyone has tips or can explain why this is so hard? I'm going to try drawing myself from a photo and see if that works any better.

Thanks for you thoughts
Lee

[ShellyF]

Hi Lee! I work from photographs all the time to do my portraits, mainly because I spend a lot of time to get very accurate detail, and also the only time I really get to draw is after the kids go to bed... so it's not really a good time for someone to model http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Robert]

Hello, Lee and welcome! You've asked a pretty loaded question there - one that people've been arguing about since the camera was first available. You'll find that there are very good artists who use cameras 1) all of the time 2)some of the time and 3)never. So, it's really up to you. Go forth and feel good about it - whatever your choice, you'll find plenty of people who've made the same choice as you, with good results!

[djstar]

I do a lot of life drawing in an open studio so 90% of my stuff is from life and I made a big realization.
Everyone looks like they are either bored, tired or sad...because most of them are! It is hard sitting for three hours with no emotion.
I have done comissions from photos. I wish I could figure out how to get the light I get in life with the sense of the moment that happens with the snap of a shutter.
When I get the REAL work, I hope to be able to do it like the big kids: Spend a pose getting color and detail studies layed in, then set up lighting and photograph what you are painting. THEN lay in all the background, hands etc. and get the human for the final sitting. With the photo and the real thing, it would be the best of all possible worlds!
dj*

[bruin70]

i work exclusively from photos,,,except when i do a demo.

biggest advantage,,,,your time is your own....{M}

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"it's alright to be judgmental,,,,,,,,if you have taste"...MILT

[Lee]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I find working from photos easier, maybe because the model (me!) isn't constantly moving!

[ArtyHelen]

I work from photos 99% of the time. I have done a couple of pieces from life, but I spend so long on fine detail that it would be putting myself (and a model) thru hell if I tried to do it any other way!

I think it does you good to practice a bit from life though. But there's nothing wrong with doing your 'serious' work entirely from photos!

Helen

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Visit me!
http://pencilartist.50megs.com

[Gary B]

By all means use any tool necessary to get the best results possible.

That said...Don't neglect drawing from life or you'll miss the greatest teaching experiance you can have as an artist.

Try to avoid depending on anything too much. Be able to reach down and grab a burned stick and a flat rock if you come across something you need to record.

Most of all...Have fun.

Snuffy

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"First you get you a pen and a ink."

[Leslie M. Ficcaglia]

I had a similar experience to djstar's: when I first began doing portraits in oils rather than pencil sketches I asked my daughter to pose. It ended up as a good likeness but her expression was very uninspiring. Since I also take photos all the time I tried doing some reference shots of my next subject and loved the way I was able to achieve a really spontaneous-looking smile. I've done all my oil portraits from photos since then, but I do sketch from life as well. I think it's important to practice from a three-dimensional model whenever possible, and I feel you can depict people convincingly from two-dimensional reference material only when you've had considerable experience drawing from life; it gives you a sense of the way the muscles move and of the heft of the body which you don't see in a photo.

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Leslie M. Ficcaglia
Minnamuska Creek Studio
Portrait Gallery at http://www.igc.org/mauriceriver/riverpeople.html

[Ohju]

Most of my work is from photos, a few is from my head and very few from plein aire.
Working on a newspaper photo, which is black and white...making it into color.
Yes it's a tool, who cares....it's art. http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/biggrin.gif


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The best way to predict the future is to create it. Peter F. Drucker

[Masterartworks]

Working from life is hard because you don't do it enough. Just like anything else, the more you do it the easier it will become.

So, why do it? If you want to push your boundaries, beyond what comes easily. Working from life is really exciting, the energy you get gives your work a dimension that is not accessible unless, you have had that first hand experience. The liberating experience of working from life, can do nothing but compliment your work when you do use a photo?

If like, bruin70, you can paint just as easily from life, and the photo is just what you loosely interpret, then good for you. But, If you are so dependent on a photo, that you can't paint without one, that's scary. Cultivating your perceptive powers by working from real life, will give you a strong foundation to draw from when using photos.

Keep trying, you'll get it.

[guillot]

I just don't want to do a self-portrait...........I don't inspire myself enough!! HA. I've heard that this is very, very important, but I'm afraid that I would be too bored with myself. :D

So far, I've worked with both, from life w/ photos for ref, and from a photo. My first two portraits, my girls just wouldn't sit still long enough. So those two portraits were a combination of life work and photo work. My third was from a photo. And, I have done some practice (not completed work) from life.

[seejay]

Hi Lee,

I have worked from photos previously, but now enjoy very much trying to draw from life. I find it is much more satisfying, and enjoyable, even though the end results differ greatly in likeness and detail. You must have different expectations for each way.

Enjoy doing your portraits however you like, I think anything is acceptable practice.

And I don't know if getting a likeness matters much, if this Australian art prize is anything to go by:

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/06/05/1022982715899.html

Maybe one day I can enter this!:)

Chris

[jocelynsart]

Hi: I personally work from photographs. I have years of life drawing before I began doing portraits however. I keep it up on my own.
The reason I work from photos is because of the type of portraits that have been asked of me. I have painted children that are no longer with us, people from the past, people in a different setting than the reference, as well as people together starting from different references. The other reason is that it is not feasible for me to work from a sitting subject. I work from my home and have children at home. I love working from photos. One example of a portrait that could not have been done otherwise, was one I did of 3 children. It was in a sort of collage style, not a posed sitting with background. The first child had died and they had 2 children since then. They had no portrait of all the children together. Also, the little one had a heart condition which bloated her face. I corrected that in the painting. These people wrote me a letter 2 years later thanking me for this wonderful painting as it meant the world to have a portrait of their 3 children together.
Anyway, I take thousands of photos for reference. Often, it is the first step in a painting. It is for me part of the developement. How this arose for me I do not recall. I have always been drawn to photos and had to paint the most thrilling ones. It is all a personal thing. I don't get that satisfaction from drawing from life. Although, I do recognize the importance of it. To paint from photos well, you need to have experience with lighting and values in objects as they would appear on sight. So, I don't think I could work from photos as easily if I had no life drawing or painting experience. PLus, constant observing around me is somethign I do daily.
The self portrait is an experience all on it's own! I have not had interest in doing one. I have done them, but in school, as an assignment. I think we are far more critical of ourselves then we are of someone else and this may lead to why a self portrait is a difficult painting to take on.
Joss

[jnet11]

dj's comments are right on about the downside of painting from life. I sketch very quickly in a small sketchbook and later transfer the subject to paint, working from my sketch to try to capture some of the livelihood of life

I also have people pose for me to paint from life, which is my favorite way to paint. In order to avoid the bored eyes, I never spend more than two hours with them, and never more than a few minutes of absolutely still. I invite a few people over so that there's conversation (and beer). I find that when you know a person extremely well, it's easier to get a dynamic expression from life.

and I paint from photos, too ;)

[DanaT]

I fall into the 'drawing from life' category. When I started drawing with the book 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain' I practiced contour drawing from photos and did a few self-portraits in the mirror.

Contour drawing is great to practice from photos. The contours of the face are the same regardless and you have time to get it right with the photo. Since facial features are somewhat similar across all people, practice with photos helps when you draw from a live model.

That having been said, I think the key to satisfaction is being able to nail the likeness pretty quickly. The best artists I've seen have been able to nail it in 5 minutes or less. At that point, it doesn't matter if your model moves a lot and you can add color and lighting which doesn't depend on the model's staying still.

I'm not saying I can get the likeness consistently in 5 minutes or less but when I do, its a much more satisfying drawing experience than drawing from photos.