Top Secrets to Painting Realism. Part 2

Eyesight Realism Not Camera Realism

Don’t take a single photo and turn it into a painting. Not because it’s “cheating” but because your eye doesn’t see the same as a camera. Your eye sees more detailed color, your eye doesn’t frame the scene in standard proportions, your eye doesn’t have a depth of field that’s dependent on a setting. A realistic landscape will be “in focus” all the way to the horizon, not blur out of focus as a photo with a narrow depth of field will.

Color is Relative

Color isn’t a set thing. It’s relative to what’s next to it, what kind of light is shining on it, whether the surface if reflective or matte. Depending on the light and time of day “green” grass can be quite yellow or blue; it’s never a simple match to a single tube of green paint.

Compelling Composition

A subject painted with great technical skill isn’t enough to make a good painting. The choice of subject needs to speak to the viewer, to grab their attention and compel them to keep looking. Spend time considering the composition of your painting, what you’re going to include and how you’re going to arrange it. Work it out before you start painting and you’ll save yourself anguish in the long run.

By M.Boddy-Evans