Bring life to dull photos

I am indebted to my wife, Donna, for this tip. She uses the free google photo handling software called Picasa (download it free from http://picasa.google.com/), which not only sorts your photos into one easy to use place, but also has lots of fixes, tunings and effects that you can apply to your photos. So I began to play with it to see what it could do.

I chose a photo that didn't show much promise as something to paint from. It was of some rusty bits of junk in an old shed - all darks and rust browns and not terribly exciting. But by fiddling around with it in Picasa I managed to brighten it so the objects hidden in the dark could be seen, and enhanced the colours, so that browns turned into greens, reds, oranges and yellows, and then I sharpened it and cropped it as well. The end result was a photo with much more interest in it, and something that could be used to make a painting (possibly as an abstract).

So, find some of your most boring photos and have a go with a programme such as this and see what you can do. You may not even use the photos in the end to paint from, but the process of changing them may spark off other ideas that may inspire your painting.

Pick a Theme

Do you sometimes get painters' block? That's when you are really inspired to paint, and all you want to do is to put brush to paper, but you can't think of a subject. You look around for ages, and nothing seems to grab you, and eventually after half an hour of wandering around in ever decreasing circles, you just give up, pack your painting gear away and sit and watch the TV! This is what is called painters block.

So how about choosing to paint the first thing you come across? Whatever it is. If you are indoors then it might be the computer, or a mug of tea, or the sofa. If you are outdoors, don't spend ages looking for the perfect view, just paint the first thing you see - perhaps a bit of bark, or some rusty furniture, or a cow. Too much precious painting time can be wasted in looking for the 'right' scene.

And you may find that once you have found a subject then there may be other similar subjects lying around. I chose to paint a pair of leather shoes. (To make life easier I painted them in monochrome, using only burnt sienna and burnt umber.) They were quick studies and were very enjoyable to have a go at. And when I had painted the first pair, I then decided that this was a good theme, and found the second pair, the ballet shoes. Now if I should get painters block again sometime soon, I know that I will be able to just pick another pair of shoes and paint away. And perhaps then move on to hats, or coats or even underwear! I need never be stuck for a subject again.

Simple Subjects

Sometimes it is the simplest of subjects that make the best paintings. We can spend a lot of time looking for the best view, or the most unusual set-up, or the most detailed of designs, and in so doing we can miss the simple subjects that are all around. This farmhouse in the Lake District is not complicated at all, and yet on the morning I painted it, it was almost magical. The cool spring sun was lighting it up beautifully against the dark wooded hillside, and the simple shape of the building just made a lovely composition. So next time you are stuck for something to paint, just look for the ordinary subjects, and then make them extra-ordinary!

Sketching from Photos

If you find that you can't get out much because the weather isn't good, and you are wondering "what shall I draw?", then why not have a go at this exercise. Get a sketchbook and pencil or pen, and find some photos on your computer. Then give yourself just 5-10 minutes to sketch the photo into your book, just as if you were doing it outside with the view in front of you. By taking just a short time you will be forced into just getting the main elements down, and your sketchbook will soon fill up with fresh looking pictures that you can use for inspiration when you come to paint.

The joy of spring

Spring is just beginning here in the UK, and it is great to see the buds breaking on the trees, the daffodils in the garden, and the longer days. I shall be out sketching soon, as things warm up. As the seasons change through the year, so does the landscape and the garden. There will be new colours and shapes emerging all the time. If you want a challenge then try to paint or sketch a diary throughout the year capturing these things!

The Quick Draw

We have a dozen or so pheasants that have recently decided to visit our garden every day. They've become quite tame and are great fun to watch as they peck around the garden after seeds. So this morning I could resist it no longer, and just had to get the sketchbook out. The problem is, the pheasants don't stay in one position for more than two seconds at a time. They are constantly on the move. So my pencil sketches had to be very quick indeed, just a few seconds each, trying to catch something of the overall shape and movement of the birds.

So why bother if that's all the detail you can get? Well, to my mind, it is invaluable to sketch like this. Firstly it forces you to study and memorise your subject in a flash, and secondly it helps you to become loose and unfussy with your drawing -just capturing the few basic lines that are needed to show what it is. I think your drawing skills are honed by spending a few moments a day sketching something like these moving birds.