May 22, 2007: "Painting of Tica" - this is not a photograph

[Undertoad]

Artist Dru Blair painted - yes painted - this image from a printout of a digital photo. Head over to Mr Blair's site to see versions of the painting at various stages of completion. It took the gent 70 hours to finish this item. He has an interesting take on photorealism:

As a style, Photorealism has a few detractors, who often dismiss it as pointless, or non-art. They fail to realize that many photorealistic paintings are not mere copies of photographs, but interpretations of reality based on the artist's vision. The act of merely copying a photograph has no artistic merit except to hone one's artistic skills. Most of my aviation paintings would be impossible to photograph, such as Timing is Everything for example. This painting of Tica is not just a copy of a photograph, but is a product of many artistic decisions, whereas I deviated from the reference photo for more aesthetic appeal.

Often, the artist's deviation from the reference material is unconscious. Despite my best efforts, my own unconscious stylization creeps into all of my work, and it is a struggle to keep it subdued.

Photographic reference is almost always used as a guide by photorealists, but becomes less necessary as an artist gains proficiency, and understanding of the elements of photorealism. While reading the list of the elements of realism, consider that no other artistic style demands so much of an artist. Photorealism is by far, the most difficult artistic style to master.

[Scriveyn]

Ce n'est pas une pipe

[Shawnee123]

Why is it not a pipe?

Wow, sure looks like a photograph.

[b°b]

@Shawnee123: It's not a pipe, it's a painting of a pipe.

[Shawnee123]

I'm so confused.

I was joking, but not sure what I was joking about. I don't remember the word pipe from my two quarters of college French.

Am I just completely obtuse? (Please don't say it.)

[Hime]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

I'm so confused.

I was joking, but not sure what I was joking about. I don't remember the word pipe from my two quarters of college French.

Am I just completely obtuse? (Please don't say it.)

It's a famous surrealist painting by Magritte. The idea is that one shouldn't mistake a representation of a thing for the thing itself -- each should be seen for itself, not for how it resembles the other one. It sort of refers to the discourse in French philosophy/ literary theory about the relation between the signifier and the signified.

[Shawnee123]

All the art history classes I took in college and I missed that reference. I remember the Son of Man better, though.

Have you ever heard "Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War" by Paul Simon? Neat song.

[Shawnee123]

I like the way you think, Bruce.

[SeanAhern]

Actually, I bet it is a photograph. A photograph of a painting. :-)

(Yes, I know I'm being pedantic.)

[Kitsune]

He painted the chromatic abberation and blur caused by the camera lens, too? The closeup doesn't even show any hints that it isn't a photograph and the "various stages" images are too small to prove it.

Ahh...maybe. Damn impressive if real.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

He painted the chromatic abberation and blur caused by the camera lens, too? The closeup doesn't even show any hints that it isn't a photograph and the "various stages" images are too small to prove it.

Ahh...maybe. Damn impressive if real.

I thought the same about the "various stages". I want to see the layers as he build up the eyes... etc.

utter sceptic regards............

[Nikolai]

Well this "painting" has been partly put togeather by air-brush, so I gather from his website, air-brush makes skin so much easier to do

[miss_chance]

I'm always tuned off by artist who claim about *their* art that "no other artistic style demands so much of an artist. " Feh. That's poppy-cock no matter *who* says it.

A damn fine example of photo-realism, but I'm afraid I'm one of those painters who generaly dismiss photo-realism of this degree as being more or less pointless. I'll agree it's a great way to hone skills, but a dancer generally doesn't post vids on You Tube of themselves doing crunches to hone their abs. (Although at least there'd be hubba-hubba value to that )

[glatt]

I'd be more impressed if they also posted the photo that he copied. Who knows? Maybe this painting looks nothing like that photo.

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by glatt

I'd be more impressed if they also posted the photo that he copied. Who knows? Maybe this painting looks nothing like that photo.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon the original photo. Glatt is right, the painting is not entirely accurate.