like any dutiful painting instructor i always require my students to make 3 thumbnail sketches before they start painting. i make them these cute paper viewfinders like i used to use when i was in high school. my quote, "your first idea is usually not your best idea".
but today one of my students asked if she could use her camera as the viewfinder. she wanted to take pictures to literally find the painting she would make of the still life she set up. i couldn't think of a reason why this wouldn't be ok. the lcd screen on the back of a digital camera if literally the best viewfinder i could think of. not only that, but they usually fight me on making 3 sketches. these girls, however, took at least 10 pictures slowly and thoughtfully and we were able to cover the screen with a sheet of paper to see how the composition could be different.
maybe we discovered something new today.
1 comment:
I encounter the same thing in my drawing classes...and I simply can't decide how I feel about it. Perhaps there is a difference because they will be painting the still life from life? rather than taking a photo and drawing the image in their dorm room as they do with me. I don't know. I can't shake the idea that this limits them some how.
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