I (haven't felt like working on anything for a week or so, so I decided to do a bit of photorealism to get myself going again. I don't know why this happens to me - where I do loads of pieces in a row staying motivated and excited between each one and then I stall and have trouble just wanting to start a new piece. So here's the very beginnings of a second piece to go with "canned" and at the same dimensions 6" x 18." I'm thinking 3 of these hung tall instead of horizontal would look great together.
So this is just the very beginning and I'll post it as a work in progress. Probably not enough to really post, but I wanted you all to see I'm working and maybe it will be fun to see how quickly I can get that little square to grow into a bigger composition. This is just the top right corner and is about actual size if you don't click on it. If you click on it it is grossly enlarged! :)
So I know some people don't like photo-realism. Frankly I never understood why photography is considered an artform by some of the same artists that don't think photo-realism is real art. I agree if you take someone elses photo and then copy it - the person doing it didn't put any imagination into it, but when someone goes out or sets up a photograph to work from - getting the correct lighting and crop and then does a photorealistic drawing/painting of their own photograph, then I say that is art and creative! I mean the only difference between the fine art photographer and the photo-realist is that one is very good with camera equipmement and one is good at improving the photo by hand - all the creativity is in taking the shot and cropping it in the first place. Well that's my opinion anyway. :-) & now I'll get back to my photo-realism piece which I think will be just the thing to get me going again!
5 comments:
Being no expert, I will now give my 2 cents on photorealism. Why not?
I like photorealism. I don't know the full definition of the genre, but it occurs to me that it involves a lot more than representing the view through a lens. It often has meaningful associations and undercurrents.
The only thing that puts me off is the lack of originality. Like swimming pools. How many artists can do swimming pools in California before it gets old?
On the other hand, I saw an excellent artist who did underwater images of herself, with cut-off cropping of the figure and other new perspectives. Neat stuff.
Your subjects and images strike me as very original and fresh, including this one of cans.
Hey Casey!
Thanks for your opinion!
I'd love to hear what anyone else thinks too!
I absolutely agree with you - while copying someone else's photo takes a lot of technical ability, it doesn't say anything about the artist's creativity.
A photo can be art and photorealism can be art. Like in all genres, the creativity, originality, and technique vary wildly.
One small thing I don't like about photorealism is when camera lens effects are copied blindly; that is, the artist doesn't realize they're copying a lens artifact.
I really like your art! These cans are refreshingly different. And I really loved the last wine piece you posted before your old blog went belly-up.
Meg
I agree with you and the other posters. There are many ways to approach realism and photorealism is one of them. On the other hand, I have been following your work for a few weeks now, since I discovered your site and blog, and I would not have considered your pieces to be photorealism but rather representational of the subject matter. For me, it's because of the texture and mark making, even in the highly representational works that separate them from just photorealism and become, along with their elegant compositions, much more expressive - if that makes sense!
I have really enjoyed reading your blog and following your works in progress. As I have been learning to use colored pencils myself seeing your work has been very inspiring for me. Thank you!
Ann
Thanks so much for the opinions Meg and Ann! I really am interested in people's thoughts on the subject.
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