On Location
Getting the perfect reference photo is a whole process in itself. I have different priorities than most when it comes to deciding which photos to take.
I wanted to share this process separately from the A Peek Behind the Opal Door blog because it’s lengthy and includes more details.
Focus on the Feeling
When my location has been selected and I’ve arrived, I immediately survey the entire scene before I get started. I take time to stand outside the car, look around, immerse myself into the environment, and then decide which direction I want to go in.
I’ll ask myself: Where do I think most of my opportunities will be for catching the feels? That’s what it’s all about.
When I’m walking around, I’m not looking for the prettiest view or the “best” view. I’m looking for what makes me feel something. A visceral reaction. I’m really FEELING the scenery, not viewing it.
When I feel that something, I stop and take a photo. Sometimes I take 10 photos or 100 photos. I’m holding my camera, looking through and over it, and deciding what I want to have in the frame. Because I’m catching the feeling more than I’m catching any view or object, I’m not as concerned about lighting, focus or composition. I can fix all of that when I get home.
Perspective is Paramount
Because I do so many challenging perspective pieces where flowers or the road look enormous, I need to take a photo that reflects that perspective. Those are taken by putting my camera right in front of that foreground object and focusing on the background. Snapshot. Then I’ll blur the background and focus on the foreground. Snapshot.
I’ll usually combine the two to make my art. I’m not all that fond of paintings that are blurry in sections. I believe that because we have the ability to capture detail, we should. And I do, or I try to. I definitely do have less defined sections within my paintings, but generally speaking, I prefer them to be in focus.
I point my camera at the sky a lot, too. People think that British Columbia is all rain, clouds and gloom. And while that’s not the only weather we experience, living at 430m elevation often means that my house is in the middle of a cloud.
Talk about feeling the scenery! Getting up close and personal with the clouds allows me to appreciate the beauty and access details differently than looking at them from a distance. In order to capture these perspectives, I need to be present.
Staying Present
As much as I take a ton of reference photos, it’s challenging to take my big camera out into the field. I tend to be looking for something specific if I plan to take that with me. I usually just use my phone and my tripod because they’re light and I don’t have to think about them.
That is a big thing for me. The ultimate goal is for me to be present and not have to take too many things into consideration. That’s why I don’t paint outside. Because there’s too many things to think about and I lose my ability to embody and capture the feeling that I’m trying to paint.
Sometimes when we go visit places, I might not even take a single photo because I want to focus on remembering what it felt like to be there. I don’t necessarily want to remember what I saw. Especially for places where we’ve been lots of times!
Sometimes when we go to brand new places, it’s really overwhelming and I can’t take photos. That’s when I rely on my partner because he’ll take photos and then I can use his. The first two Gardner Falls paintings were created from his photos.
I’ll be sharing more intimate details about different parts of my process in future blogs. Stay tuned!
