Month: September 2010

Real Painting in 3 Dimensions

Photoshop is lots of fun, but it can never surpass painting with physical art materials.  It is a dangerous temptation to waste art time, so I want to say right now at the beginning stage of this blog that while there are many computer artists, it’s not my choice or my vehicle for expressing creative ideas in a final way.  As good as it is it cannot make as many choices as I need to present my painting idea because a good part of it is just my reaction to what I see and  the thickness and drag and push of the paints on the resistant canvas, paper, metal, glass, or wood.  I don’t want the program to lead me away from that, for me Photoshop is too two dimensional.

 I think my style would suffer the same way as any handmade object would if it was given over to a mechanized assembly line, just think of the difference between a cobbler’s shoes and  factory ones, or a tailor’s suit and an off the rack one.  So I’m not going to work the things I paint on the computer, not going to mix the “medias”.  I am going to keep them separate.   I don’t want the confusion and interference.  It leads to alienation from the subject matter and that’s a grief I’ll forgo.

Grapes & Vines Light Exposure

This picture was snapped before camera’s auto light balance adjust kicked in and results in underexposure that preserved the lights without blowing them out to whites and left the darks with enough detail without getting too dark, happy fleeting victory over the camera’s auto system, could plan this effect if you know your camera’s capabilities.  You can do a lot with a cheap Canon if you observe how it reacts to changing light, how long it takes to make it’s “perfect” exposure adjustments, you can get special “filter” effects by “pushing” from one extreme to another snapping ahead of that little perfectionist camera brain.  You can so to speak, fake it out.  Now see what I can do with the picture in photoshop.

Photoshoped Grapes Visual Steps from Imperfect Photo

A. Large patterns from original photo. 
Identical cutout effects on differing value/hue/intensities produce much different composition patterns, showing how to guide the eye as you wish.  What is your message?  Contrast, comparisons, patterns, focal point is established.  I think B. is most pleasing to me, I usually go for the drama.  But in the original picture, maybe not, it’s according to what mood you’re after.  The lower contrast sometimes works better, you be the judge.  Everyone has preferences.
B. Smart Fix of original made darks darker, giving more depth, altered secondary forms, but same basic composition balance.

I’ll continue with the darker wider value range of B.

C. Base shapes
D. More detail
E. End
 Does this remind you of anyone’s work?  It surely looks familiar stylewise, hey, I think…..Nah!  You know! 
Anyhow it was a lot of fun messing with such a classic subject as grapes and vines.  I get a lot of mileage out of my food dollar.
  

Grapes Unedited Photo

Grapes Unedited Photo
Kind of out of focus, no easy view pathway, distracting elements, but wonderful imperfect photo to photoshop, see what’s possible!
Please comment on all my posts,  In the spirit of my art mentor Nina Conner, constructive criticisms welcomed!
I’m trying to grow a thicker skin as Nina always said I needed!
Sharing thoughts on our art ideas only make us better artists, as Nina always said, there is no piece of artwork that couldn’t be changed in some way to make it even better, but that’s what keeps us painting.  Good criticism should spur us on to the next work, not endlessly “fixing” the present.
Onward and Upward!