In my guest post a couple of weeks back I was asked to detail some of the techniques that I used to develop some of my paintings and I thought this might be a good topic for discussion.
I typically use the human face as a subject to support statements on issues that I feel strongly (social mode) or I use it to project characteristics like ‘beauty’ (descriptive mode).
Left : Bollywood Broodings; Oil on Canvas : 3 feet wide X 4 feet high
Right : Long neck and adornments; Oil on Canvas : 3 feet wide X 4 feet high
I use the following steps to create my paintings.
1. The first step begins with scanning multiple sources for photographs of human faces. This could either come from my ‘face photography’ collection or from looking at old magazines, portrait photography books and in some cases centerfolds of questionable magazines in search of the right portrait.
2. Once I decide that I have the right photograph, I scan it using a high resolution scanner such that I have a ‘soft’ copy of the picture on my computer.
3. After I get the soft copy, I open up the picture in a tool (I like Photoshop – any other tool that manipulates digital images should be ok, but I like this one) and I adjust and play with the bit mapping to alter the values on the following variables (brightness, contrast, sharpness, noise and saturation). I tinker around this way until I ‘create’ an image that tends to increase the contrast (and thereby the dynamic range) of the colors in the image. The aim here is to increase the overall discerned contrast of the picture uniformly such that highlights are captured without the image looking ‘overexposed’. Plugins to Photoshop like the Power Retouche tool helps very much in clearly defining the final picture. This process could take quite some time until I am ‘satisfied’ with the final outcome.
4. Once I think that I have the transformed picture in a ‘final’ format, I start off on the canvas with a dark pencil and lay out the sketch for the areas that contain the highest contrast.
5. I progressively ‘pencil in’ the overall sketch coming down the contrast gradients until I am able to map out most of the contrast levels onto the canvas. This is pretty time consuming but is worth the effort. Once this is complete, I then start to apply the oil paint (darker regions first such that I am able to adjust the lighter colors later for overall luminosity). I use the computer transformed picture as a sort of ‘color contrast guide’ while I go about my painting process. I typically do not use any linseed to ‘thin’ the oil paint. I prefer to load the paint directly from the tube onto a thick brush and then onto the canvas. Most of the times, mixing of colors takes place directly on the canvas.
6. If in the middle of this process I am not happy with the background or foreground or any color combination thereof, I sometimes take a photograph of the half-completed painting and then color-adjust the captured picture on Photoshop to see how other color combinations would change the final picture. This allows me to experiment with multiple color combinations without laying out colors on the canvas until I am happy with the final picture.
I take about a month to complete a single picture, and I am usually satisfied with the effort (traces of Rex’s post on vanity resonate here ;-). Sometimes, I whimsically refer to this technique as ‘High Dynamic Range Painting’ (in line with the current trend of HDR photography that builds on similar effects).
The following site at Saatchi lists a little more detail on the thought behind some of these paintings… http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/a/25497.html
People have commented in certain online forums that using photography to produce art is not real art. They have also gone onto say that using a computer tool to manipulate the photograph and produce the final oil is not really art. What do you think? I am interested in your opinion as this serves to understand perceptions that people would have to my art and to art like this in general.
Sunil,
If photography can be art in itself, then why should painting made using photography not be art? We covered this here in the interview with Dan Bodner. I think he put that question to rest.
Art is as it is because of the way it was made. A painting from photographs will be distinct from a non-photographic painting. Your use of digital techniques yields still another outcome.
Karl,
Thanks for that. That post was before I came on board and I should have covered the archives. Good thing you pointed this out…
Sunil,
I should have said, “he put that question to rest for me.” Obviously the issue is complex and people can see it in different ways. I used to be very anti-photographic. I don’t paint from photos, but after my talk with Dan, I do respect work made from photos.
Sunil,
I was wondering if you could share something about your experience with the saatchi-gallery website.
Karl,
I do not find the Saatchi website to be particularly useful even though I was initially taken in by the press hype and decided to put up my works there…
Pluses:
It has a fairly usable design that brings together artists who work on various mediums and not just limited to paint or photography.
Love the fact that I can look at works from artists all over the world and it is not really ‘America/NYC’ centric
Minuses:
Very little provision for any kind of feedback (not a blog/discussion type format), just a static gallery – although they are working on something like that.
No provision for finding out viewer ship on your works or rating your works
No provision for ‘spotlighting’ certain favorite pieces
In fact, just yesterday I was tinkering around with the Znafu format that you put together for me in order to ‘better present’ my art..
Hope that helps
Sunil,
Very interesting information, and a nice start with the blog as well. Let me know if I can be of any help with the art blog.
I’m wondering if we could (or rather, should, because could is not an issue) incorporate something like this directly into Art & Perception, extending our individual pages (e.g., yours here) to contain background information and pictures.
Sunil,
Thanks for the description of your method, which is a nice blend of digital visualization and more conventional painting technique. Have you considered printing on canvas and then painting over that? Of course there’s a cost issue for the printer, but let’s ignore it. Would it subtract something essential from your sense of your art if painted over a colored image? A black and white one? One with just edges? How much have you experimented with the boundary between digital and traditional techniques?
Sunil, my humble opinion is that art is about communicating an idea, the more unique the idea the more powerful the art. If I’m right, the tools don’t matter, its the idea. Thanks for the set of instruction (I am going to give it a try). Both paintings are beautiful ideas.
Karl,
I heartily support the idea that we should have individual ‘art showcase’ pages on Art and Perception. This would be especially useful for people who do not have the time or the money to create fancy websites that can be used to showcase their work.
At a minimum these pages should contain locations for uploading the image file, the title, medium/size details and a brief description. Bells and whistles with ratings and high-lighting can be added later. I strongly support this and am sure will be very useful to a lot of us here…
I was really impressed by the format you created for Hanneke http://hanneke.znafu.org/. Something like this would be a great springboard for bigger and better ideas…
Steve,
Thank you for the words. While I make use of the computer and image manipulation software’s on the computer, I look at it merely as a tool that helps me arrange colors in patterns and positions that I like best. I use it merely for what it is meant to be – a tool: nothing more. Nothing really comes between (or should I say substitute) the sheer physical pleasure that I get from applying thick dabs of oil paint from brush to canvas. While the idea suggested by you (print out the image and paint over it) is definitely a great exercise (and I am going to try it to see how much I can push the envelope of digital-manipulation-based-oil-painting until I feel it is not original any more), I revel in the fact that I am in control of the final product deciding which color goes where and where hues should be strengthened or blurred…
Bob,
I like your sentiment there “art is about communicating an idea, the more unique the idea the more powerful the art” and the fact that the tools really do not matter. Glad you liked the painting/ideas.
Sunil,
I understand about the physical pleasure of painting, and I think that beyond that, it provides subtle ways that you influence the outcome and make a Sunil painting, even if you’re not conscious of all of them. But I was just curious whether you would consider shortcutting the stage of drawing on the canvas, which you say takes a long time.
I’m wondering what you mean by the phrase “simplistic art” that you use on your blog. Do you consider your painting simplistic?
Sunil,
What I did not realize earlier is how large your paintings are. The images on the internet give no sense for this. Would it be something interesting to present a photo with a person in front of a painting, something like what we saw with Carina’s work?
Steve,
In retrospect ‘simplistic art’ was not the right choice of words to choose for that blog. I wanted a word that in effect meant ‘art that is more complex that it looks at first glance’ or some such thing, but I did not quite get it right. Simplistic could have a bit of negative connotation also…
Good question.
On your comment as to whether I would consider shortcutting the stage of drawing to the canvas, I am planning on some more experiments as to the limits to which I can take the digital enhanced picture to canvas paradigm, but I do not think I would be too happy with the results.
Karl,
Yes, not too many people notice the size of my paintings (especially with the standard internet shots). I typically like large canvases. I will take a picture of the painting with someone next to it to give an idea of the size and proportion.
Sunil
I like the use of the warm gold in these two. I can feel the heat. It reminds me of the gold used in indian jewelry There’s a sultry and suggestive aspect to the paintings too.
I know what you mean about the size of the works, mine are a similar size and unless they are seen in real life, it’s difficult to convey the size. Karl’s suggestion to photo the canvas with a person is very useful; I may consider this too for my own site.
IS THERE SOMEWHERE I CAN GET MY PHOTO PUT ON CANVAS FOR ME TO PAINT WITH BRUSHSTROKES AND MY OWN ADDITIONS?
Annie, there are plenty of places that do that. Many digital printshops can print on canvas. Here in California, there are Calypso (in Santa Cruz) and West Coast Imaging (in Oakhurst), and probably a bunch more. I don’t know where you live, but check around locally for places that do digital printing.
Sunil:
Didn’t know you were a PSU grad. I got my MFA at PSU main campus way back when. Your experience and mine of the place are quite different I’m sure.
Are you using the computer to get you somewhere, or did you jump on the bus to see where it takes you? I will say this, I suspected computer when I first saw your work. The color and value separations made me think of magic wands. Did it effect my opinion? At first yes. I began to appreciate your choice of subject and the manner of your painting after I had come to terms with the computer aspect. It all came together for me with the painting of your newborn: immediate, strong and not lifted from a magazine,, but from your deepest feelings.
Thanks David…I will contact West Coast online and see if they will do that for me.
David, I went to both websites. Exactally what type of print would I ask for if I wanted to paint over it?
Jay,
How did you figure out I was a PSU grad? I do not remember mentioning it here (or maybe I have). Anyways, you are right in your assertion. I did my masters in microelectromechanical systems (nanoscience in today’s parlance). Unfortunately I never got around to working on the exciting concepts of nanoscience as I joined up with an investment bank on Wall Street (the lure of the lucre outdid the lure of the nano).
I recently left the investment bank and now work for the state of New York in the field of technology policy and strategy.
My art has grown organically over the last decade (if I may say that). What initially consisted of doodlings and little abstract drawings (which I kept a secret from my investment banking colleagues – they would have thought that I was out of my mind to indulge in mindless fantasies of this nature n Wall Street), came to a better fruition over the last couple of years when I have gotten to be a little more brave with respect to showing, documenting and storing my work. I decided to leave the bank when I felt that the work was contributing exactly 0.0 to my intellectual development (of course I could make money, but that is not all of it). I noticed that as soon as I left the old job and started off with my new one (which made me think), my artwork also became more focused, clearer and vivid. I hope to continue in this regard for a long time to come – of course the vagaries of the environment on our psyche are manifold and who knows what tomorrow would bring.
My wife (who is a physician) made a telling statement the other day on looking at my part-time artwork and some of the artwork of other artists at an exhibition that I was showing recently. “You know, both of us just need to do our jobs and we can make a decent living. I think that it is exponentially more difficult for a full time artist. Even if the person does a great job at their art, there is no guarantee that they can make a living off it as it is so subjective’.
If I wanted to paint over a picture on canvas what would I ask for when ordering it from a Photo shop that prints pics?
Annie, all you’re getting is an inkjet print on canvas. Both Calypso and West Coast have choices of Matte or Glossy finishes (not sure which would be best). You might want to coat the print with something before you paint on top of it, to protect the ink on the print from being lifted up by your paint solvents. Calypso will, if you like, stretch the canvas over stretcher bars for you (at an additional charge). West Coast doesn’t have this option, so you’d have to stretch it youself.
I’ve never painted on an inkjet print before, so I can’t give you any more technical details. Call the print shop you’re thinking of dealing with them, tell them what you want to do, and ask their advice.
I suggest trying out your process on a small print first, as there’s bound to be some trial and error involved.
I took a photo on the way to Taos last summer and I wanted to make it an oil or acrylic painting.(which ever medium would work best over the print)
I could enlarge it on a copier and trace it but really wanted to have the original color to match and to paint over.
I didn’t think about ink, perhaps it would bleed, I will have to experiment a bit.
Thank you so much for all your help.
art is what ever you say it is, you are the artist, some artists create with NO desire for response to work,yet they are artists (see henry darger) some artists create to “belong” these are elitists, painters paint they belong to that “club” it is a boundary whih they place upon themsleves, some artists create to make money…they have different limits and rules they give to themsleves. Some artists like to share art but fall in love with methods that are without norms such as most contemporary artists today whom are multimedia and post modern. Using altered photography actually is WIDELY used, accepted and LOVED. do what moves you!!
it looks unique. i saw this art for the first time.
On the surface level of my work, one can see a shifting of dimension and distance within colors and fields, which seem representational of various places in nature. Under this surface though, in my eyes, a painting is a center point, a culminating nexus where all the pieces of a life, in all its complexity and experience, become focused and connected. I paint in an attempt to get myself to release the hold I have on what I consider reality for a moment and be reminded of something more, a place in or outside of time and movement within memory and collective cultural ideas. My work is not landscape; I don’t see my paintings as places although the work does carry a sense of place. Rather, I see the movements left by my hand, which in turn came from those experiences I carried with me to the canvas at that place.