Saturday, December 31, 2011

Studies and Revisions

One of the best ways to learn is to study the masters - artists so good, even other good artists look up to them.

I based this study off a painting by the incomparable Alberto Mielgo.



The next best way to learn, to get better, is to go back and fix your mistakes.

I fixed this old painting up some using Photoshop.



By fixing it, I make it better, which makes me better.

See you January 7th!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Happy Holidays!

No class tomorrow or next week, the 31st. I'll see you January 7th!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Orientalism

I usually stick to posting my own work here, but I had to share the wonder that is Orientalism painting.

A few leading artists from that era when Europeans were colonizing the world:

Jean-Léon Gérôme



David Roberts



John Frederick Lewis



Fernand Cormon



Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Compare and Contrast

Sometimes I use Photoshop to alter my final artwork so I can see different possible versions of the same image.

By seeing different outcomes, I am able to learn more about what makes a pleasing final image to me and incorporate those lessons into the next image I create.

My original:


A super-high-contrasty version:


A darker version with slightly more contrast:


While I feel I learned what I needed to learn about creating volumes and space using simple gradients, it is only after playing with the image in Photoshop that I feel I know what it takes to create a more pleasing composition. Here's a look at the final Photoshop Enhanced Image: