Greetings frozen friends! I am buried in at least 10 inches of snow. I've been living here in Kansas City for 26 years, (transplanted from New Orleans), and I've never seen this much snow. Makes me wish for spring to come early. It just so happens I have a picture I took this past summer of 2009 that I would like to share with you. I want to take you on the journey of how I create a photograph. There is a lot more to professional photography than just clicking the shutter button. I will start with the original picture as captured by my digital Canon 20 D. Along the way, I will introduce various examples of each stage in the painting process using Corel Painter X. A wonderful, yet tedious program, but well worth the time.
The picture I've chosen is "House Wildflowers". All my photographs have very simple, obvious names simply because I don't want to spend time wracking my brain for a snappy, creative title. Please, I need to reserve all my creative juices for the actual creation of the piece. I wouldn't name them at all except for the organizational help a title adds.
The above photo is one I took while driving around on a photo shoot one day in Kansas City. I had just finished shooting at one of my favorite public gardens, the Kauffman Memorial Garden, and was on my way home. I turned my head to the left and saw this house with all the wildflowers. I couldn't slam on the brakes to turn so I had to drive by. But the Lord nudged me to turn around. I don't always listen to Him but that day I did. It was around 10 or 10:30 in the morning, so the sun was still behind some large trees. I like shooting in overcast or filtered light. This picture has a composition that draws the eye in with the fence post, then the row of wildflowers draws you in even deeper. I used a wide angle zoom lens at 35mm.
The next step in my process is to create a painting. Not all images lend themselves to this process and should be respected as such. They are great in their original state. But, to me, House Wildflowers just screams "make me into a painting." I think it is because of all the textures of the flowers and then the break up of textures between the house in the background and the open yard in the foreground. My first step in creating a painting is called the "muck up" stage. It's the same process many painters use. It's goal is to lay down paint to create an abstract background to base the painting upon.
Pretty cool, huh? The idea is not to concern yourself with shapes or form, just paint, color and texture. This stage can consist of anywhere from 5 or more layers. Next, it's time to begin focusing on shapes and tones. I want to very gradually bring in the major shapes of the photo - I'm still not looking for detail.
This version above reminds me of when Jesus asked the blind man what he saw after Jesus spit into his eyes to heal him of his blindness. He said, "I see people walking around that look like trees." The house and the fence post is beginning to take shape. But it is obvious at this stage it is not finished.
Now I'm creating more detail along the important edges, like the roofs and the fence post. Also, I'm painting in some texture around the flowers and in the grass. I am using smaller brush sizes in Painter at this point. Still it is very impressionistic. I just love it!
Can you tell the difference between this picture and the one above? Look hard. It's in the bottom, left corner. See the flowers? Those do not exist is the original image. (See first image) I put my own flowers in because I think it helps balance out the photo. It fills in an area that seemed blank and needed filling. That's what is so great about Painter. You aren't limited - the boundaries are open to your imagination. Many photographers have been turning to Painter for just this reason. The sky's the limit! You can add or subtract whatever you want. We could take a detour here and discuss is it art if it is generated by a computer, but that is for another day. For me, a computer is another tool that just happens to be a little more complex than a paintbrush.
So here is the final version. I have added a surface texture in Painter which gives it a look or feel of paint laid upon canvas as opposed to a photo printed on a glossy surface. You can't really view it at this size. Next I added scripture. Since the house and a white picket fence is an American icon, I thought the Joshua scripture fit well.
Hope you have enjoyed this journey with me into the minutia of my photographic process. I will have the new image available on my website soon. Check back to find it. It will appear in my New Photography gallery. God bless you and may this picture warm your heart until spring finally arrives!
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