Justin.
I have never used projecting as a tool, but back in the late'60s and early '70s i taught myself to paint by copying photos. I've never tried to hide this fact. I simply knew no one who offered instruction in traditional methods of oil panting (i.e. color mixing, etc) and I was impatient to learn. I was a teenager at the time. I actually learned quite a lot about color mixing this way, so I can honestly say it was of some use. Since then, I have completely re-learned how to see color by working from life. However, I still use photos in my work. Often I paint landscape studies on site, take photos, too, and use both to develop very large paintings in my studio. I do not copy photos any more, but I use all the information I have to create art that says what I want to say.
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Originally Posted by David Carroll
Q. Why would a "real" artist bring a camera and take pictures instead of sketching?
A. It's easier than drawing.,
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I am not known for taking the easy road with art. There are other reasons for bringing a camera and taking pictures, as I have just explained. Photos give some very useful information, and digital photos, especially, can be very useful when making decisions about edges and distance. For the correct color I always refer to my oil sketches, but the color of dgital photos is pretty darn good much of the time if you know what a thing really looks like and can remember to put the correct amount of "punch" in the right places. I do the same thing when I paint large portraits. A pencil sketch would not give me the same information as a digital photo.
Real artists use all kinds of methods and references. Personally, Justin, I would encourage you to continue drawing from life. But I also think the large-scale portrait that you posted would be awfully hard to sketch out accurately from life. You would need a very long arm to get far enough away from the canvas. A grid would serve the same purpose as projection and allow for a lot of freehand drawing, especially if the grid is large. If you worked life-size, you could practice sketching out the figure freehand.
I want to say that I like your color and values. Your portrait does not look ameturish. I also think the composition is original and balanced, and you have not cluttered the composition with a lot of extraneous elements. Only the essentials are there and they work very well.