How do you get from photo to canvas?

[Jimmie Arroyo]

I personally am in the same boat as Kim, but agree with Sharon. I work from photographs because I have to. I also cannot afford to have a model sit hours for me, and I don't know many of them willing to do it from 11pm-2am, which are my working hours. I would like to do both. Start off with a photo and finish with live sitting, this way I can get certain aspects out of the way, and not have the model sit for so long.

When I do my drawings, I work by eye. The most I will do is proportional measuring with my pencil. I feel using a grid, I would lose spontaneity and the overall feel of my drawings. When I used to airbrush, I would do a drawing by eye on paper first, then project it to my board. One of the things I ended up hating about my work, is that many people thought it was a photo with a retouched background. I even had two computer online magazines ask for articles on how I manipulate my photos. I am not accusing anyone of trying for photorealism and exactness, just referring to Sharon's post.

When I finally learn how to paint, I plan to make the marks directly to canvas or board by eye. I apologize if this sounds like an attack on anyone using grids or projectors or whatever, it's just an opinion and my personal preference. I guess as long as the final product is good, and you're happy with it.