Reference Photos for Painting
Photography for me is a means and an end. At times, I appreciate and strive for interesting good quality photographs. Other times I use photography as a jumping off point for my painting. In this post I share some recent photos that are destined to become painted images.
Abstract Landscape 426-048
Sometimes what attracts me to the image and make me want to use it in a painting is a result of an abstraction created during the photo-taking process. At other times (like in the image above) I discover what I am looking for through photo post processing – sometimes relatively minor tweaking of contrast, saturation and cropping. At other time I may explore some filtering options to enhance the image. On the above image I used an infrared film filter in the program Color Efex Pro 3.0.
Abstract Landscape 426-074
Abstract Landscape 426-030
Abstract Landscape 426-026
It is never my intent to make a photo realistic painting of a photo which has already been abstracted. My challenge is to capture the essence of whatever it is about the photo that appeals to me and to develop a technique in painting to maintain that essence.
Abstract Landscape 426-080
Randall Talbot - Artist 