Monday, 16 April 2012

The Value of Outdoor Painting

By Emile A. Gruppe

"Despite frustrations, I always return to nature. And I remain convinced that the quickest way to learn about composition, values and colour is to work outdoors. Of course, you can work in the studio, too. You can sometimes do wonders painting from a sketch done on the spot. But if you're going to work in the studio, use sketches, not photographs. If you've been honest, even a bad outdoor sketch has something in it. But photos are always wrong. The blues are too vivid; the shadows, too dark. Everything's off. Slides are okay if you're desperate, if you can't get out and want to experiment with color or composition. They give you a place to start...but save the pictures you do from photos--and then see what you paint outdoors. Once you compare the two, I'll bet you never use photos again!"

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