How to Paint Directly on Photos
Overpainting, a mixed-medium form of art, is essentially painting on top of photographs. Artist Gerhard Richter’s works in overpainting are on display in many museum exhibits. Hand coloring black-and-white photographs is another reason to paint on top of photographs. It gives the photographer total control and a chance to highlight certain parts of the photograph while possibly leaving the rest black-and-white. Most paints will work on photographs, but Marshall’s oil paints are specifically made for photographs.
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Things You'll Need
- Duplicate photographs
- Photo paper
- Oil paints
- Acrylic paints
- Watercolor paints
- Watercolor Inkjet paper
- Paint knife
- Artist brushes
Instructions
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Choose the photograph that will be painted. Make sure to have a duplicate copy on hand to ease the pressure on the first try. When using watercolor paints, print the photograph on watercolor paper. Water on normal photographs will destroy the picture.
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Experiment on a blank piece of photo paper while comparing it to the real photograph before applying paint to the actual photo. Acrylics are less likely to harm the photograph with time, but the paint dries fast and requires an experienced hand. Marshall’s photo oils are meant to allow the photograph to be seen underneath the paint, but any artist oils will work, especially if seeing the details underneath the paint isn’t important.
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Choose a brush or painting knife. The painting knife will allow you to create more texture on top of the photograph and is the tool of choice for artist Gerhard Richter. Use high-quality artist brushes to ensure that small brush bristles don’t drop off into the paint and ruin the work.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit paint pbushes image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com
