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Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 8:16 pm
by idamtnboy
JohnBFisher wrote:By the way, I'll eventually get the painting scanned and post an updated / clearer picture of it at that time.
If you have a high resolution digital camera you can get an amazingly good copy with it. A camera works particularly good if the painting isn't readily suited for scanning because of size or because it's framed. I've reproduced photos by just photographing them with more than adequate end results. The single biggest challenge I've encountered using a camera vs. scanning is getting proper lighting on the subject.
Here's a link to a camera copy of a hand colored b&w photo, circa 1880, of my Grandmother in Finland.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/178 ... GM%203.JPG
Here's the link to the final version after some photo editing to convert it to rectangular format. The camera I had then was only 1200 x 1600 pixel resolution.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/178 ... 20size.jpg
I opted not to use the image link since these would be somewhat of an intrusion into this super thread of yours.
Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:22 pm
by JohnBFisher
idamtnboy wrote:JohnBFisher wrote:By the way, I'll eventually get the painting scanned and post an updated / clearer picture of it at that time.
If you have a high resolution digital camera you can get an amazingly good copy with it. ...
I do have a higher resolution camera. Even my cellphone camera is not too bad. But it was getting later in the day and I didn't want to make a big production out of it. Thank you though for the example of how it can be used. Cool to see the hand colored b&w photograph. I love old family pictures like that. Imagine the amount of time it took to take that picture (minutes at a time).
Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 6:10 pm
by JohnBFisher
This week the lesson for art class is how to create a mood for a painting. For example, a misty coastline in Oregon provides a great example of how you need to create a unified painting that expresses a mood more than just "capturing" the setting.

Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 9:27 pm
by JeffL
JohnBFisher wrote:
By the way, I'll eventually get the painting scanned and post an updated / clearer picture of it at that time.
In the meantime, I sharpened up the one you posted :

Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 9:39 pm
by JohnBFisher
Cool! Thank you. I should have remembered that I can do that with both my computer and PhotoBucket.
Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 10:28 am
by JohnBFisher
Once again I attempted to capture a mood from a picture. The original of Bryce Canyon shows a stark outcrop of mesa from the side of a canyon wall. It's that out thrust in stark contrast that I wanted to try to capture.

Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2013 1:11 am
by JohnBFisher
Today's painting is of a North Carolina farm, you can tell by the red clay and the tin roof with the screened porch. It is the result of using the a teaching video and modifying the subject a little to make it a unique painting for the area where I live.

Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2013 5:37 am
by Pad A Cheek
John,
I love the sky, the shadow of the fence and the whole atmosphere of this one. I can just about hear my aunt call out "Dinner is ready, y'all go wash up now."
Thank you John for sharing your talents with us. I am really enjoying this.
Karen
Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2013 1:05 pm
by JohnBFisher
Some of the most attractive settings to paint are sunsets. This painting is based on a photograph a friend took while on vacation.

Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 1:22 am
by JohnBFisher
Sometimes it takes more than one time before you get it "right". I'm not all the way "there" yet. But I am definitely learning what works for me and my own personal style of painting. This afternoon, I decided to give another shot to the North Carolina Farm House theme.

Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:41 pm
by JohnBFisher
In a word ... YES!! I am very happy with this painting. I have been looking at courses offered during the Art of the Carolinas show. One of the instructors is Tom Lynch, an internationally known watercolorist. One of his courses is titled "The Magic of Leaving White Paper". The sample photo (which you can see below) intrigued me and made me want to try something along that line.

Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 3:18 pm
by kaiasgram
Art apnea = Seeing a work of art that momentarily takes your breath away.
I'm just so glad that you're sharing your art with us this way -- it's beautiful. I love this one.
Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 5:22 pm
by ems
I LOVE the NC Farm House. It's just beautiful. The last one, with the pretty red flowers.
Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 10:03 pm
by JohnBFisher
Here's a quick sketch of a fall foliage around a vacation spot in the New England area. It's roughly based on an image I saw in the news yesterday.

Re: OT - My new hobby ...
Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 1:11 pm
by JohnBFisher
To combat the silliness going on in the current Obamacare post, perhaps a little bit of Flower Power is needed. So, today's subject is based on a photograph of a flower that a friend took in Scotland. This is a pen & ink with watercolor rendition of the photograph. While the flower itself is not bad, the background needs some work.
Edited to add: I think I will redo this in landscape mode, rather than portrait. Thinking about it for a bit, I think changing that will make a big difference in this painting. It will make the flower larger. I'll also incorporate things I learned from doing the first painting. I might even use a smooth hot press paper this time around.