Should we make art from photos?
If you want a convincing animal or person in your artwork, the time-honoured approach is to practice relentlessly from life, and to study anatomy. That is absolutely do-able if you have a spare decade
The use of photographic references is a controversial subject… many talented artists are absolutely against it, but others see the photo as a vital part of their process.
This blog comes with huge thanks to two eminent contemporary artists, Michele Ashby and Jake Spicer, for sharing their work and thoughts.
Let’s take a journey through time, looking through a light-hearted lens (ha) at art before photography, up to the present day:
Good Ol’ Masters … Good Ol’ Days?
Not saying I could do better, but I’d wager that back in the 1500s even Leonardo da Vinci, dissector extraordinaire, would have benefitted from a squint at a photo of a lion, horse, or dragon.
If you want a convincing animal or person in your artwork, the time-honoured approach is to practice relentlessly from life, and to study anatomy. That is absolutely do-able if you have a spare decade, deep pockets, and are apprenticed to a Renaissance artist.
Then and now, artists who conquer the sheer grind of learning to ‘eyeball’ measurements and colours are held in high regard (er… that is my way - Ed)
Horse art bloopers
Until 1878, this was how galloping horses were generally depicted (even by my Romantic art hero, avid student of the severed body part):
Cameras crack the problem
In a fabulously Blue Peter-esque enterprise, Eadweard Muybridge used string, double-sided sticky tape, washing-up liquid bottles, and 20 cameras to establish that a horse’s legs are only all simultaneously off the ground when they are tucked beneath the body during a gallop. So in 1878, Muybridge invented the motion picture, and gave the world the first ever .GIF !
More horse art gaffes, and info on Mubridge’s work
Contemporary artists walking the talk
Lots of artists use photography as a cornerstone of their work. From hyper-photorealists to collage makers, to painters who reproduce photographic distortion. I would describe them as using the effects of photography, a great branch of enquiry for another conversation.
Setting those aside, I am interested in today’s practitioners who combine traditional skills, observation, and reference photos to meet their objectives. My hope is to stand on the shoulders of giants AND press forward. The use of the photo may/may not be evident in the final result, and that may/may not matter.
Here are two fine artists (and teachers) who inspire me with their vibrant figurative work, sometimes using reference photos:
Michele Ashby
Michele’s work speaks directly to my personal experience. From portraits to iron staircases, she seems to zone in on the textures and light that catch my eye about people and things. Her haberdashery still lifes are a hotline to my childhood, I feel I can smell and feel every object. It is fascinating to know her process, but what draws me in are her choices, often made at/before the photographic stage. Find Michele on Instagram and her Website
“Photography is my second love sitting closely behind my passion for painting with pastels. A reference photo is simply another tool in an artist’s arsenal that can be used as a starting point.
However, not all reference photos make for beautiful paintings.
Sifting through to find what will translate into a piece of art along with your skills is so important.
Triggering a strong emotional response to say what you want to say is how it all starts so choosing what I want to keep in and emphasising those elements alongside what I want to leave behind are key to creating a strong composition before I even begin putting colour to paper.
I enjoy the process of photography whether it’s with lighting and in the studio or while capturing an image on the fly as I’m in a crowded street.
For me as I’ve chosen my artistic path later in life I feel I’m always short for time with what I want to say and using reference photos is a great way of speeding the process up allowing me more time to create.” - Michele Ashby
Jake Spicer
Jake moves seamlessly between working from life, via zoom, and from photos. His work seems to be simultaneously knowing and inquisitive. I love his combination of control and looseness, his attention to both anatomical features and the spirit of the person modelling. Jake is endlessly generous in his use of video as a tool for demonstrating and sharing his skills.
“I’ve always been an advocate of using a wide range of source material to support learning. A photograph freezes a moment in time, giving us longer to work from the imagery that it depicts - it can be a powerful tool and is an integral part of the process of so many professional artists working today. While we limit ourselves when we work from photos alone, live subjects also present limitations - the strongest drawing education is built on an understanding of how to make best use of each source of imagery available to us. We might develop an understanding of form, a sense of physical presence and a more responsive process while working from life, and combine that with the patience and intense observation that a photographic subject might encourage.” - Jake Spicer
Find Jake on Instagram, his Website and Many other places
See the caption of this Instagram post for details; Nb the use of a reference set:
There are many great ways to work from photos within the realm of figurative realism. In addition to Michele and Jake, see the epic narrative paintings of Will Rochfort. Will stages elaborate reference photos, a process described in this great discussion with John Dalton.
So what?
Much as I love The Book Of Kells, there’s no denying the usefulness of word processors. If it weren’t for computers, this blog could have been handwritten and posted, but the reality is it just wouldn’t happen at all. I think the loss of manual dexterity is a shame, but (speaking as a calligrapher and tatter) does it really matter if handwriting becomes a niche craft, like tatting?! And does it really matter if artwork is produced by direct observation or from a photo?
As we evolve, we look back at traditional assumptions, priorities, and judgements with fresh critical thinking. We are taught that hard work begets good things.
We relish artwork being made ‘En Plein Air‘ (‘outside’ - Ed). Like the art equivalent of method acting, the en plein air painter gives up time and personal comfort in a quest for immersion in their subject, and thereby faithful representation… a thoroughly justified custard pie to reference photos!
Sure, reducing the shapes and colours of the 3D world onto a 2D page can’t be mastered entirely from photos. If you can, pack an easel and head for the hills, to a life drawing class, or off to Florence to study sight-size and earth pigments. As much for the joy of doing it as for the end product.
But if you’re learning to draw, and finding all the elements difficult, would using a photo make the difference between having a go or not? Hold your head up high at the kitchen table… brush in one hand, YouTube tutorial/photo in the other!
I often use photos, and often direct observation. From now on, I will lose the tinge of guilt that comes from thinking that working from life is the One True Way.
If you have enjoyed this blog, please do leave a comment, and pass it on to friends.
Thank you so much!
Gail x
(first published 2023 on my website. Updated and shared here on Substack)
If using cameras, tracings, or camera obscura etc, were good enough for Degas, or Lautrec, then its good enough for me 😁 And as for Hockney - he has embraced any, and every, bit of technology he can, fabulously!