While preparing my Camera Roll posts, I found a few reference photos I had actually painted but never posted! It looks like spring 2023 was around when I really took off painting from my own photos, but I was not in the habit of posting my reference photos until I started the Photo to Painting series in August 2023 with What to do with those old sunset photos? Paint ’em!
Let’s see how I did painting my own photos in 2023.
Sense & Sensibility Clouds
I painted this moody sky from Danehy Park in June 2023.
I really like this one! I am probably going to go easier on my past self than I would if I had just painted this and could see the mistakes, but really I think this is great. I captured the dramatic sky, and even subtleties of the color of the green grass and pinky reeds. The mix of browns and blues in the cloud color is interesting, and the value contrast is great.
Great Meadows
Another one from June, this is from Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge in Concord, MA. I didn’t capture the flying heron in my photo, but there really were herons flying about.
I considerably lightened the photo, which it needs. The photo is weirdly dark, and the day very sunny. I made an attempt at value contrast in the clouds, though they could be more majestic. The swamp is more legible in my painting than in the photo, and the variation in greens is exciting.
Twilight in the Park
Back to Danehy Park in July 2023.
Again I lightened the photo, which it needs for legibility, although I ended up making it look less twilight-y than it was. The painting is fast, loose, and energetic, and in that context especially I think the tree is great. However, I kind of wish there was more definition in the cloud shapes.
Conclusion
I don’t know if it’s just the passage of time which allows me to be more relaxed, but I enjoyed looking at this work and found it less fraught to criticize than my more recent work. There is a good balance of looseness and definition in this period of my work which I’m hoping not to lose!