Gathering and creating reference material for future paintings is one of the most enjoyable parts of making art, for me. This time, I was planning a series of Farmers' Market paintings for a gallery show. This would be a two-step planning process, before I ever started the actual painting: 1) Taking the pictures, and 2) creating the photo collages that I would use as references, while drawing and painting.
So, the first step was to visit the local Farmers' Market one Saturday to take lots of pictures. I brought along my sister, so I'd have many photo references to use. . .
These are some of the photos that I used for the first painting . . .
I used the photos to make photo collages. I know many artists use Photoshop for this, but I like to spread out the pictures on my floor, rearrange them, cut them up, and paste them together into a pleasing composition. I make a real mess, but it's fun. . .
I used the above collage as reference, to paint this painting . . .
More photos . . .
Here's the collage I made with these sunflower pictures . . .
And, here's the painting . . .
I had to buy some of the gorgeous flowers, and some other goodies -- some were used in the paintings, and the goodies were just eaten . . .
Here's the collage I put together with the above photos . . .
and the finished painting . . .
Here it is, framed and hanging in the gallery . . .
One more collage . . .
and the painting . . .
Fascinating to have a little glimpse into how you work. I'm just dipping my little toe in this world, your site has been a huge help understanding some stuff that I read about but lack the general framework to process. I'm working up the courage to try some of your exercises. Thank you for putting them here, alongside your inspiring work.
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