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How I use photos to help me “see”

Leonardo Da Vinci said "The artist sees what others only catch a glimpse of."   That was definitely the case in my first oil painting class many years ago.  The teacher, a lifelong professional artist, was trying to explain that the shadow cast by the vase I was painting was warm in some areas and cool in others.  Being a relative beginner, I saw gray – only gray.  She went on to point out that the highlight on my vase was actually a shade of blue, as it was a reflection of the sky.  I could only see white.  She then said that if the light is cool, then the shadows must be warm – (what?  I thought light was warm and shadows were cool – aghhh!)

 

After many years of practice, my visual senses are becoming more attuned to these color subtleties - but I am fully aware that being able to see tiny nuances in color, tone and temperature is definitely a learned skill, taking years of practice to sharpen.  Having started painting later in life, I am still developing those skills.  I’m getting better at it, but I do frequently struggle to identify an exact color on my subject, and try as I might, I sometimes just can’t tell whether the light or a shadow is warm or cool.  Since life is short and I’m not getting any younger, I figure I need a little help.  So I have learned to use photos, and Photoshop Elements to help me “see” a little better.

 

I know, I know – you should paint from life, not from photographs.  Photographs lie.  Photos don’t show the whole picture, the nuances of the beauty of the subject, light, etc.  But photos enhanced by photo-editing software like Photoshop Elements can assist in seeing things our eyes can’t otherwise see.

 

 I frequently use Photoshop’s Color Saturation tool on a photo of my subject to help me see slight tones of color on white or neutral areas, or to see if the light trends more toward blue or yellow or orange.  Saturating the photo exaggerates the colors, helping me to see important color subtleties in my subject that I may otherwise miss.

Reference photo with colors saturated

 

I also use Photoshop’s Color Picker and Pencil tools on reference photos to isolate colors on my subject and thereby see them more clearly.  When I was painting “Roses and Tea” I was confused when trying to figure out exactly which colors to use for the centers and shadow areas of the white roses.  Artists know that white objects are never really white.  The colors in a white rose will actually range from pale yellow to light blue, with some pinks and violets present and many shades of gray in there as well.  I struggled to identify just the right hues and tones of these delicate white petals.  So I used the Color Picker tool (it looks like a little eye dropper) to choose the area on the reference photo and then switched to the Pencil tool, and drew a ball of that color on the white border of the photo.  This resulted in a mass of that particular color on a white background, which enabled me to see clearly what color or tone I was actually seeing on the flower.  I could then mix up the right color for that area of the painting. 

Reference photo showing shadow colors

 

In recent years, I have been trying to paint more and more from life and rely on photos less.  In general, I can see the nuances of my subject better by viewing it in person than by painting from a photograph.  I agree with Leonardo that artists see more than others and in different ways.  My abilities to see the subtleties of color keep improving the more I paint, and I’m happy about that.  But I appreciate the occasional help my camera and Photoshop give me, and I’ll gladly take all the help I can get.  Like I said, life is short!