Landscape Painting from Photo References
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Start with a Photo Reference
When using a photo as a guide:
1. Try not to copy the landscape photo exactly.
2. Identify areas of interest and position them to your advantage in the composition.
3. Crop the photo to help you focus on what you are looking to put into the painting.
4. Eliminate unnecessary clutter.
5. Identify abstract shapes which would add to the unity of the painting. For example, create a grouping of trees of different heights and widths into one abstract shape. Individual trees tend to distract from the easy visual flow of the onlooker.
Here is a photo I took of a desert sunrise right after the rain. The picture was taken in a neighborhood but, I wanted the painting to be out in the desert itself.
The following are some pictures of how I changes this photo into a landscape painting.
First I opened the photo in Corel Painter 11 and did some light auto-painting to eliminate the cars, houses and other distractions. Some of the houses would become distant trees.
I also lightened the mountains and trees to give depth to the painting and help draw the eye to the center of attention, the brightest part of the sunrise..
Looking at the modified photo, I could see where I could make the puddle areas larger to fit in between what would become foliage and higher ground in the photo.
Next, it was time to start laying out the under-painting on my canvas.
1. Try not to copy the landscape photo exactly.
2. Identify areas of interest and position them to your advantage in the composition.
3. Crop the photo to help you focus on what you are looking to put into the painting.
4. Eliminate unnecessary clutter.
5. Identify abstract shapes which would add to the unity of the painting. For example, create a grouping of trees of different heights and widths into one abstract shape. Individual trees tend to distract from the easy visual flow of the onlooker.
Here is a photo I took of a desert sunrise right after the rain. The picture was taken in a neighborhood but, I wanted the painting to be out in the desert itself.
The following are some pictures of how I changes this photo into a landscape painting.
First I opened the photo in Corel Painter 11 and did some light auto-painting to eliminate the cars, houses and other distractions. Some of the houses would become distant trees.
I also lightened the mountains and trees to give depth to the painting and help draw the eye to the center of attention, the brightest part of the sunrise..
Looking at the modified photo, I could see where I could make the puddle areas larger to fit in between what would become foliage and higher ground in the photo.
Next, it was time to start laying out the under-painting on my canvas.
Contents at a Glance
Starting the Painting
I started to apply the under painting to establish the three value areas I would be working with.
Using a value scale where "1" is white and "10" is black;
The sky would be the mid-lite values..."2" and "3"
The distant mountains and the water area would be the mid values..."4" and "5"
The land on either side of the water would be the mid dark areas..."6" and "7"
Testing the Composition
After applying many layers of paint, I looked at the abstract shapes of the varying value areas and decided I wanted to change the shoreline on the right.I also wanted to add saguaro cacti to the land areas to create a more specific feeling of the desert.
I tested placement of the cacti and changes in the shoreline by going back into Corel Painter 11 and testing the changes out on a new layer.
Once I was satisfied with the composition, I went back to the canvas and made th4e changes.
The Finished Landscape Painting
Here is the final version of the painting.
It was done with water-soluble oils on a 9 x 12 canvas.
It is available in many sizes and framing options at my art site at
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/southwestern-art-sunrise-after-the-rain-judy-filarecki.html
Summary
Here is a brief summary of the steps I followed to complete the transition from a photo to a landscape painting with some alternative suggestions for some of the steps.
- Pick a resource photo or several that would combine to produce the image in your mind of what the completed painting will look like.
- Eliminate unnecessary clutter by with doing what I did using Corel Painter 11 or other photo editing programs, or draw several mini sketches of what you visualize.
- Create a value sketch to help you establish the composition of the painting. You can do this by either doing black and gray drawings or by converting the photo, using the photo editing option in your software, to produce a black and white image.
- Begin laying down color under painting keeping in mind the three value areas you established in you preliminary work.
- Check the value areas for interesting abstract shape and balance of composition.
- Build depth into you painting to make it three dimensional by producing an atmospheric effect over areas that are in the distance.
- Use highlights to draw the eye deep into the painting...darker areas forward in the foreground and sky and lighter areas at the horizon.
by Judy_Filarecki
I have been a professional artist since 1994 when I resumed painting after retiring as a physical therapist for forty years. My works... more »
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