Michael Shane Neal: Using a Photo Reference Wisely
Using a Photo Reference Wisely
John Johansen (1877-1964) was a great artist who lived and worked in the National Arts Club in New York City. His portrait of Mr. Frick at the Frick Collection is a fine example of his work. As an artist who worked exclusively from life and sketches for much of his career, he found the transition to utilizing photos as reference confusing and difficult. He once told his protege, Everett Raymond Kinstler, that he simply couldn’t “read” a photo. So uncomfortable with using photos for reference, he sometimes would add a line just below his signature on completed works: “From Photographs.”
As a student of Everett Raymond Kinstler for more than 25 years, I have learned that there is no substitute for painting from life. That admonition was repeated in almost every class, art conversation or critique. I believe it wholeheartedly, and I have learned more from painting from life than at any other time.
That said, one thing was true about Mr. Kinstler, if anything, he was practical. He understood the challenges that face commissioned portrait artists. Time, distance and circumstances often dictate that an artist will not have the privilege of numerous sittings and hours of time with their subject. Fortunately, we can employ many resources to aid us as tools for creating works of art. Life sketches, mannequins and even stand-in models can be used in your studio. The most attractive and convenient “stand-in” is photographs. Of course, they have limitations, but when used wisely, photographs can be excellent resources to aid an artist in creating a portrait.
Recently, during a weeklong workshop at my studio, I explored these ideas with my students. As part of the study, I completed a portrait using only a reference photo. I shared with the class as I worked, decisions I was making based on inspiration from and not copying everything that was there.
STAGE 1: I toned the linen canvas with a combination of cerulean blue, burnt umber and mineral spirits for thinning the paint two days before so the surface was bone dry. I began by simply taping an 8-by-10-inch photo of my subject near my canvas. Squinting to see the shapes simply, I used the tone of the canvas as a value representing the lights as I blocked in the shadow shapes with a neutral, warm shadow color.
STAGE 2: Holding a traditional wooden palette and using filbert hog’s hair bristle brushes,
I work on massing in the flesh with a midvalue flesh color to now establish three simple values; light, middle and dark. I am not using my lightest light or darkest dark at this stage, holding them in reserve for later. I mostly will concentrate in working off the middle values as I progress further. The lightest lights and darkest darks will remain accents for later in the process.
STAGE 3: I rapidly establish big relationships. To avoid getting too detailed, I step back from the photo resisting the temptation to look at it at closer range or blow the head up too large. The white of the blouse is important at this stage to compare against the value of the flesh tone. I keep in mind moving over my whole picture relating big color value relationships and thinking sculpturally.
STAGE 4: I now have all of the large pieces of the composition established. I have kept the overall statement simple. I keep in mind that even a good photograph accentuates value, color and edge. Values become more compressed, colors can be very different than reality or what I am looking for, and edges can become very crisp and hard overall. I may have to find more value transitions for a specific form, adjust the color to my needs, or lose or soften more edges that are seen in the photo.
STAGE 5: I am now concentrating on my area of focus—the head. I add more detail and become more precise with drawing, edges, color and values. I pay special attention to my subject’s unique characteristics and begin to let the likeness happen as a result. At this stage I may elect to take out certain details or simplify them. The hair is a good example of working to get the feeling and character of her hair and not paint every strand I can see in the photograph. I also chose to push the overall background value lighter to create more contrast between her head and the background.
STAGE 6: The previous five steps took about three to four hours to complete. Stage 6 took about 12 to 16 more hours. I slowly refined every aspect of the work. Edges were treated with great care looking for every lost and found edge that I felt added depth or solidity to the forms. Color, value and drawing were refined, and comparisons made to both the photograph and my memories of my subject and experiences from painting from life
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Michael Shane Neal is a sixth generation native of Nashville, Tennessee. A professional artist for 30 years, his work is included in public and private collections throughout the United States and Europe. Neal’s commissions include such notables as Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’connor, U.S. Senator and Majority Leader Bill Frist, President George H.W. Bush, American Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin, and actor Morgan Freeman. He currently maintains studios in Nashville, Tennessee and New York City.
Jo, oil on canvas, 30 x 24" (76 x 61 cm).