Articles

This started as a simple idea of a piano and light.  I wanted to work a darker painting and practice painting a single light source within the painting showing the light falling and fading on objects around the light.  I also wanted to take a simple setting and make it complex with a complicated wallpaper design.     I set up the still life and took several reference photos with high and low camera exposure times to get bright and dark options.  Even the though the intent is a darker painting, getting photos of a bright version of the still life allows me to [...]

This was the first of some larger size paintings I did, 18" x 24".  Previously I had been working in smaller 11" x 14".  Had an idea for this painting and started off by taking a bunch of reference photos.  Took separate photos of the face with strong and weak lighting so I had a full range of reference options.  I find that as I paint I need a variety of lighting options, not different lighting angles, but some photos with strong reflected light, some with none, some with darker shadows, and some with lighter shadows.  It gives me options to [...]