Lessons from the Easel | Painting Anything Under The Sun

Lesson #12 - Interpreting a Photograph

It would seem that all one has to do is match the tones and colors in a photograph and, presto, a painting results. Unfortunately, there's a lot more involved. First off, photographs lie! Shadows are rarely as colorful, luminous or revealing as in real life. And if they are, it's usually at the expense of the light and halftones. But a snapshot still can be a useful tool for the painter so long as its use is tempered with a strong, visual vocabulary acquired from painting from life.