How to Paint in a Photorealist Style
Artists create photorealist paintings by first capturing a scene with photography and using that photograph as a reference for painting. Details that a regular observer overlooks in mundane life are typically the type of landscape photorealist painters depict. Richard Estes is a well-known American photorealist painter who often paints cityscapes with highly reflective surfaces. Taking numerous photographs of a scene, he would paint one composition based on several photographs, not reproducing it exactly. You can paint your own photorealist-style painting by first taking a photograph and then painting a composition based on it.
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Things You'll Need
- Camera
- Photograph
- Pencil
- Prepared canvas
- Paints
- Small plastic cups
- Palette
- Brushes
Instructions
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Capture a scene or an object you are interested in painting with a photograph. If you are a seasoned painter, take a picture with highly reflective elements and lots of details. If you are just starting out, take a picture of something simpler, such as an outdoor landscape with trees and grass.
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Print out the photograph you want to base your painting on. You want to print a larger size, at least 8 inches by 10 inches, for easy painting.
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Renaissance painters used grids to help them paint realistically. Draw a grid on your photograph at least 5 lines horizontally and 5 lines vertically with a pencil. Be sure your lines are evenly spaced.
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Create the same grid on your prepared canvas. You want the same exact lines horizontally and vertically as your photograph, even if your canvas is much larger. You will using the grid as a guide for your painting. Each box in the grid in your photograph will correspond to the same box on your painting.
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Draw what you see in each box on your photograph in its corresponding box on your prepared canvas with your pencil. Once you finish each box, you should have a very good representation of your photograph on your canvas.
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Paint each box in your grid with your brushes, following the boxes on your photograph as a guide. Mix colors on your palette and use smooth brushstrokes. Photorealist paintings are like hyperreal photographs. The eye receives more information that it would normally observe. Pay attention to every detail of your photograph and re-create it on your canvas.
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Add highlights and shadows. Keep adding details and use your photograph as your reference.
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Tips & Warnings
Take a series of photographs and combine them for one painting like Richard Estes, or try composing your photographs on the computer before printing it out.
Once you have mastered simpler photographs, paint highly detailed reflective scenes with glass and metal.
Oil and acrylic paints are the commonly used medium for photorealist painters.
Always paint with oils in a well-ventilated room.
Use a drop cloth to protect furniture and floors from paint.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit old camera 2 image by James Lemmon from Fotolia.com white wall grid pattern image by Radu Razvan from Fotolia.com
