Day 16: A side street in Cortona, Italy.
This one is intersting – because I can show you the painting I made on location, back in 2015.
Fascinating how different the color is eh? Is that due to working from a photo? Or just my sensibility changing?
I’m not sure – but I can say, the new foliage looks like it’s transmitting sunlight – where the old plants look plastic, despite the intense sun.
The old painting has this rusty orange sense of heat. The light is bleached out and high-key. It was brutal – painting out in the sun. (Crazy tourists!)
In the new painting, the drawing of the street is better – the perspective is less cheated – Because of the reference? I don’t see why, because I could have measured just as easily in real life. Just new skills I guess. Maybe because it’s easier to slow down and check things when you’re working in the comfort of home.
Either way – there’s more depth and subtlety now. I can see myself improving!
Here by the way, is the photoshop-tweaked-photo I worked from.
The weird angles on the sides are an effect left over after perspective correction. I’ve removed the wide-angle distortion of the lens, so it’s closer to how the human eye sees it. But then I just add back in my own wonky perspective :)
I guess that’s how I roll.
You’re welcome by the way to use any of these photographs on the blog for your own sketches. Or even copy the paintings if you want.
Take care – and see you tomorrow with new videos!
We’ll have part three of our critique going up – discussing the last few days paintings, and – two more big surprises!