Day Forty Eight: Sunset Landscape by John Francis Murphy
Hello and welcome to day 48 of 100 days of Tonalism.
Today's study is 'Sunset Landscape' by John Francis Murphy.
Yesterday, when we were doing a post about Charles Warren Eaton I said he was my number two Tonalist, but to be honest I might have to make John Francis Murphy my number two with George Inness of course being number one as always.
Murphy's paintings are great. I will get into some biographical information about John on today's video so be sure to check that out.
Starting yesterday I began a series of posts about my painting process. We got a little bit into photography yesterday and I'm going to continue today discussing how it is that I acquire reference images to use for subjects for my landscape paintings.
There are many traps inherent in using photographs as reference for a landscape painting. I have to say that it's unfortunate how few contemporary landscape artists are not aware of some of these traps and how they faithfully duplicate almost every aspect of their photographic reference onto their canvas'. This has become so much a problem that some contemporary landscape painters believe that you cannot actually use photographs efficiently and effectively as reference. While I am aware of most of the traps, there are benefits as well
Some of the traps that you need to watch out for are:
Those are the main things to watch out for. I have covered these potential negative aspects in-depth on my previous blog but I felt that it is important to outline these potential problems for any new landscape painters out there.
As far as benefits, here's a smattering:
I'm sure there are more but for me, those are the key benefits that outweigh the traps.
Another factor that is really important when using photography as reference, is knowing what your limitations are and knowing what it is that works for you as a painter. This could be very different for different artists, and one of the great parts of getting older and acquiring experience is knowing what, when and where to photograph.
Tomorrow I will start discussing my approach to digital manipulation of photographs in Photoshop so be sure to stay tuned for that.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Sunset Landscape' by John Francis Murphy; this is one of my favorite Murphy paintings and definitely one I was really looking forward to doing a study of. Paintings like this and the paintings of Inness are the whole reason that I dedicated myself to this project and to the study of these Masterworks.
I really enjoyed doing the yellow sky and also the green washes at the bottom. I feel that I got a bit of John Francis Murphy in my soul now!
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Painted after - Sunset Landscape by John Francis Murphy, Study by M Francis McCarthy - Size 5x7, Oil on wood panel |
Today's study is 'Sunset Landscape' by John Francis Murphy.
Yesterday, when we were doing a post about Charles Warren Eaton I said he was my number two Tonalist, but to be honest I might have to make John Francis Murphy my number two with George Inness of course being number one as always.
Murphy's paintings are great. I will get into some biographical information about John on today's video so be sure to check that out.
Starting yesterday I began a series of posts about my painting process. We got a little bit into photography yesterday and I'm going to continue today discussing how it is that I acquire reference images to use for subjects for my landscape paintings.
There are many traps inherent in using photographs as reference for a landscape painting. I have to say that it's unfortunate how few contemporary landscape artists are not aware of some of these traps and how they faithfully duplicate almost every aspect of their photographic reference onto their canvas'. This has become so much a problem that some contemporary landscape painters believe that you cannot actually use photographs efficiently and effectively as reference. While I am aware of most of the traps, there are benefits as well
Some of the traps that you need to watch out for are:
- Over detailing your canvas, most photographs are incredibly detailed compared to how landscape paintings should be.
- Copying all of the forms contained within the photograph as opposed to creating a unique composition.
- Copying the colors from their photographs directly onto the canvas.
- Improperly rendering shapes in the distance against the sky.
Those are the main things to watch out for. I have covered these potential negative aspects in-depth on my previous blog but I felt that it is important to outline these potential problems for any new landscape painters out there.
As far as benefits, here's a smattering:
- Photos allow the artist to work indoors under controlled conditions.
- Photos can be manipulated to conform to the artists unique vision.
- Photos offer a great way of expanding and extending the artists imagination
I'm sure there are more but for me, those are the key benefits that outweigh the traps.
Another factor that is really important when using photography as reference, is knowing what your limitations are and knowing what it is that works for you as a painter. This could be very different for different artists, and one of the great parts of getting older and acquiring experience is knowing what, when and where to photograph.
Tomorrow I will start discussing my approach to digital manipulation of photographs in Photoshop so be sure to stay tuned for that.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Sunset Landscape' by John Francis Murphy; this is one of my favorite Murphy paintings and definitely one I was really looking forward to doing a study of. Paintings like this and the paintings of Inness are the whole reason that I dedicated myself to this project and to the study of these Masterworks.
I really enjoyed doing the yellow sky and also the green washes at the bottom. I feel that I got a bit of John Francis Murphy in my soul now!
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Original painting, Sunset Landscape by John Francis Murphy |