So why not just paint from a photo? - What's the difference to the artist and the artwork? In a word, everything!

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What the artist sees on front of her/him when on location and what they see in a photograph are very different.

Also what the camera sees is very different.

Contrary to common perception a photo does not just duplicate the view. A camera will INTERPRET what it sees and the results will depend on it's settings and how the camera is designed and manufactured.

Here are 7 things that are different with a photo/camera:

- Colors can come out very different than what your eye will see

- The temperature of the colors can be very different than the actual scene

- The lens can distort dimensions and perspective of the scene

- The darks and lights can be very different

- A camera will not always capture the essence or ambience of a scene (especially if the artist is not a trained/experienced photographer)

- The camera can miss details that can become very important to the artists perception of the scene and thus the painting -

and finally, the opposite is true!

- The camera can capture too much detail and distract the artist from capturing the essence of the scene.

Next I will talk about how an artist works on location vs. from a photo