(first wash)
(nearly finished)
(7x11)
When I was in Chicago in October I took a couple of photos of a beautiful sidestreet in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. This is a subject which I have never attempted but often been attracted to. I never know what to make of places where I can't decipher much information from my photo, as, here, where the buildings and the sidewalks meet!
I'll do the other photo next; then take a break to THINK and do them both again.
Simplify and Push: That's the mission for these Delaware dune scenes. I'll think these sketches over overnight (and attempt to channel Milton Avery in my dreams) and paint them tomorrow.
And for Friday: a fabric painting. Then I'll have one week of following my plan!
Today's query: How do you organize your reference photos? I have a typically haphazard method that's becoming unwieldy: I group my photos by the place they were taken and store them in the card-stock envelopes they come in from the drugstore. So I have envelopes labeled "Jersey," "New Mexico," "New Hampshire," etc.
I have started a new envelope labeled "to-do," to save myslef having to rummage through my collection and also to keep some sort of goal in sight ...
How do you manage?
13 comments:
I love this work. It's so light and airy. The colors draw you in.
Maybe we need a librarian to help us artists catalog our photos. I have the same problem as you with regard this.
Beautful watercolor Laura
As far as organizing ref. photos,my old teacher was amazing. Her house was stocked full of every book and ref. photo imaginable. She was always able to find a ref. photo for whatever anyone was working on. I think she organized photos by subject and had them all filed in a file cabinet.I use baskets but I know I will have to file my pictures too.
THis looks like streets I have walked down! I love the colors and the mood you have captured.
Excellent!
I love this piece. It's very calming somehow. I love the way you captured a sort of a glow on the buildings.
I'm really looking forward to the fabric painting!
Guess everyone is in on the cleaning frenzy - must be the time of year - cleaning, organizing - but for me NO PAINTING yet this year (Yikes!).
I had the same problem with photos, and did what you do - filed according to where they were taken.
Now with digital it's much easier, but you can do the same with photos: I have files such as animals, architecture, florals, etc. and with digital I can have the same picture in more than one file - but you could do same with photos by making a copy of it and noting on the copy where the original is.
Good luck!
you've captured the old neighborhood evoked the falling light and shadow
Thanks for including the first wash version, then the finished version. It's interesting to see where you went after the initial wash of colors. As far as your art in general...whatever you're doing is working... every piece I've viewed lately has that "Wow!" factor. Keep up the good work :-)
Thanks, everyone! I appreciate the encouragement!
And the advice re photos. Cathy--it's funny, I have two close friends who are librarians! I don't have those cataloging instincts though.
Filing by subject seems to be the most practical way.
Deb has a good idea about having more than one for things that you can't decide how to file.
I have to admit even my electronic files are a jumble ... but I still print out a photo when I want to use it.
Hey Laura,
Great light touch on these. It's funny you're asking about reference photos...I just spent a half hour making new folders on my desktop and organizing my pix that way. I have alot of floral reference and made "species" folders and dragged all the corresponding photos into their respective folders...maybe it'll make searching for something a little easier!
Love that Lincoln Park neighborhood.
I really like your architectural work.
It sounds like you're very organized. I just have drawers and boxes filled with potential sketching images. No rhyme or reason to them, unfortunately. I love seeing this as it develops. Very lovely.
Love this painting! Great perspective in the line of trees, and lovely colors as usual.
As to reference photos, about two years ago I organized all my photos (till then haphazardly stored here,there and everywhere) in acid-free photo boxes, partly by location, partly chronologically, more or less accurately. More or less is the key here. Organizing photos is a project that can take over your life if you have a lot of prints and you are very meticulous about it. I'm glad now that I didn't do that, because I use digital images almost exclusively now, and never make prints anymore.
I really like the composition in this.
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