From start to finish, creating a print takes a loooong time. I'm going to talk through it, and maybe there will be some parts to the journey that you never thought would be there.
To begin, I need to find what I want to be inspired by for the print.
There are so many different ways to get inspiration. For me more often than not its through travel and exploration of new places. Usually always outside, whether that be in a city or in nature.
I'll get lots and lots of imagery and references of the place and around the location.
I'll spend a lot of time in that location too getting a feel for it and enjoying the beauty of it.
To capture strong inspiration that I can take back to the studio with me, I'll use my Panasonic 4K camera to film and take stills.
Once I'm back and in the studio, the stills and footage will all go onto my laptop and I will go through it. When choosing my favourite image, I will consider the composition, colour, texture and light.
Here is an example of a photo I might chose compared to one I wouldn't (but would still take inspiration from).
This photo I would use for the composition and placement of things.
This photo is of the same scene but I would not use it for the composition. The placement of each component is not balanced.
Let's talk through why the composition is good on the 1st image.
The pontoon leads the eye from right to left or left to right, it stretches across the frame. This forms a triangle in the left bottom corner. This triangle fills the space. Where the lifeboat and second pontoon is on the right of the photo is also a triangle shape. This fills the middle section along with the water. There is always something to explore within the photograph.
In the 2nd photo is the wall. It completely cuts the fame off at the bottom and forces the eye to look at it. The pontoon is at an angle that does not involve or connect the rest of the scene. There is a much bigger section of sky, that is far less interesting to view than the other parts of the photograph.
Next step:
So I've chosen the image to work from and have a great composition... but I don't like the sky.
No problem, I will have a look through all the photos from that trip and also my photos in general. I am always capturing beautiful skies, so I have a store of them.
I'll give an example of this.
I have the chosen image but don't like the sky so want to work from another image for that part:
The main image.
I have looked through lots of photos and have chosen a sky I think will work perfectly.
Even when I'm working from this sky, I can improvise and paint what ever I like. When I painted the 'Whitby' print, I didn't work from a specific sky. I liked how the bold brush marks looked so went with that.
Once I am happy with the images I want to work from and be inspired by, I'll paint the print.
Read my next blog post to find out what happens next.