Ballet Photo or Ballet Painting?
So it evolved into how a camera 'sees', how we as human beings 'see', what goes into the mix of an artist 'seeing' and then painting a painting.
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There are wonderfuld books about ballet at the end - well worth checking out!
Thank you so much for visiting.
Table of Contents
- A Camera or a Canvas
- How Does a Camera See?
- How Do Our Eyes See?
- We See in 3 D
- Most of What Enters Our Eyes We Do Not See
- As We Look - Our Eyes Dance
- Why Not Just Take a Photo?
- The Music, the Energy, the Passion, can Radiate from a Painting
- Ballet Fantasy Truer Than Life?
- View my Ballet and Pointe Shoe Paintings
- Excellent Books about Ballet Technique
- Wonderful Ballet Stories
A Camera or a Canvas
"Tutus Backstage" by Ann Radley

With lovely dancers before your eyes, would you choose to preserve the beauty of the moment with a photograph or a painting?
There are many differences in the way a camera sees and in the way a human being sees.
In some ways the camera is more accurate and certainly more predictable.
What an artist puts on the canvas depends upon much more than just seeing with the eyes.
But first let's compare the two.
How Does a Camera See?
How Do Our Eyes See?
We See in 3 D
If you have any question or hesitation about this, please just try it out!
Most of What Enters Our Eyes We Do Not See

One major way in which our sight differs from that of a camera is that we filter out what is irrelevant. When we walk down the street our eyes take in vast amounts of visual data - much more than we are aware of. Most of this information, does not reach our awareness.
Here is a fun picture to illustrate this point. In the Nutcracker Ballet, Marie having just received her precious gift, has eyes only for her beloved Nutcracker!
As We Look - Our Eyes Dance
The eye takes in visual data about an object of interest, not with a fixed and rigid stare, but by dancing around it, behaving almost like water. These tiny rapid movements are so automatic they are hardly noticeable. In fact to me the movement of our eyes is a continual moving dance in itself.
Why Not Just Take a Photo?
When we look with our eyes at a specific point, it is only the core of what we are looking at that is in focus. Surrounding objects gradually lose their clarity the further they are away from the focal point. An artist as creator, has free play as to where the center of interest is in a painting. It is my opinion that an artist can create something more in alignment with the way our eyes see than a photograph can.
The Music, the Energy, the Passion, can Radiate from a Painting
"Eye to Eye I" by Ann Radley, inspired by Washington State Ballet
Ballet Fantasy Truer Than Life?
"Raven's Gift" by Ann Radley

WAIT A MINUTE . . . . Commissioning a painting of a dancer might be a risky business. With a photograph you are reasonably sure of what you will get.
With a painting, the possibilities are endless. . . .
Sometimes a fantastical setting can best express the invisible spirit of a dance - more so than the physical stage setting in which the dance took place.
In mythology the raven sometimes plays the role of master magician, pointing the way toward wisdom and transformation. The inky black color of the raven is associated with darkness, yet a darkness where universal secrets are stored.
In this small oil painting, the raven's life is nearly at an end. The raven willingly uses his last bit of strength to carry the dancer, allowing her to use him as a springboard to reach her full potential. The dancer gratefully accepts the raven's gift. Please visit Ann Radley Portraints and Fine Art to view this painting on Etsy.
Excellent Books about Ballet Technique
Wonderful Ballet Stories
Say Hello and tell me what you think!
Jimmie wrote...
The first one reminded me of Degas. Your work is beautiful, and I love how you detail the differences between the camera and the brush.
Ellie wrote
Enjoyed your lens. I love your work! Being both a photographer and painter, I have to agree with your comments. That is why I so often find myself tweaking my photos in an attempt to add to them the emotion that I felt when viewing the subject with the movement or "dance" of my eyes!




