OK where to start:
Michael G.
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So, to me, being an artist means being able to do great work from photos, and doing great work from life. Why? Because I firmly believe that it will help me make better pictures and enhance my ability to "see".
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Yes, Michael you are absolutely correct. Your point is a good one and I think you are right on with your philosophy on painting.
Enzie
Well, yes, there are many artists that work from photos and produce great work. Others work from a combination of life and photos and still others prefer to work only from life. But notice they say "prefer" since many of these artist have done good if not great work from photos when the situation dictated that they had no choice.
Now I did not vote on this because I felt that it did not matter really. For in the end if you have learned how to draw and paint well and understand the limitations of photos then you produce good work regardless of the use or lack of use of photos.
If you have still to master your craft or have become a slave to your reference then it will show in your painting. Many artists struggle, working for years from poor photo reference or painstakingly trying to copy all the information in good photos only to produce less than stellar paintings. Why? Because they did not take the time to learn from many different sources needed to produce good work. And these are in my opinion:[list=1]
1. Of utmost importance, if you intend to capture life in your paintings, is drawing, painting and observing from life.
2. The study of great work which came before you such as the work of the great masters.
3. Instruction from someone who knows how to paint and can pass on their knowledge to you ether directly or though writing or more modern methods such as video or the internet. But I feel direct instruction with the right person can do more for you than just pass on a few skills. I gained much from my mentor both about art and about life.
4. And last, the unavoidable necessity to acquire any skill, practice, practice, practice.[/list=1]
So in the end it is not about, "I think that painting was done from a photo or that one from life." No, it is about, "is that painting a good painting?"
It may fail to be for many reasons. Being caught by the shortcomings of photographic reference is only one reason. But until all the other reasons are addressed photographic reference problems are irrelevant. An artist that has acquired painting and drawing skills can be hindered by poor reference and it will show in their work.
Unless they have acquired painting and drawing skills what shows first is the artist's lack of those skills even if they have great reference.
So, in closing, I will add that there are many paths to the end we all seek but there is one golden path for each of us. There are no shortcuts along this path, and whenever you try and take one you are only stepping off your golden path following a mirage, an illusion of your goal. Find your golden path and stay on it and you will reach your goal. Look for shortcuts and you will just make your trip longer wasting time chasing a mirage.
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