As any of you will know I run a group on
Paint my Photo which is dedicated to try and get we watercolourists to loosen up in our work and each month I post an image for us all to have a go at. I have never blogged about the group before but this particular image, by Freda Austin Nichols, an artist and photographer who posts many wonderful images on the site for artists to paint, has produced so many really wonderful paintings I wanted to share them here. Here is Freda's image
It just "spoke" to me and is quite unlike other images we have used in the past for the group. My thoughts on this were should I keep the bag, how to do the bg, how to lose any edges etc etc and I did have one false start a couple of weeks ago which did help me sort out a few issues. I decided not to include the bag but you will see here a few did include it and they also worked well.
Just for info, the text about each painting is written below the relevant image
Please observe the artist's copyright on all these images
This is by Mike Dunn... really impressed with this not only was he the first to post but such a lovely loose feel to this, really set the bar high, just look at the "shine" on those shoes?
Now I know these aren't red shoes but the brief was to inspire and if people didn't want to paint the image they could feel free to paint any shoes and we weren't disappointed with this one from Michelle, great colours and composition I thought!!
This is Michelle's "red shoe" piece... this is her updated version as sometimes in the group advice and help is offered and artists then go back to their work and tweak things a little. This is
Michelle's website.
Lorna also tweaked her painting, toning down the bag which might have been competing for attention!!! Great loose version Lorna!! Here is Lorna's
Blog
The second of our gentlemen here!! This is William Butcher's version and here is a link to his blog
Willam Butcher blog
This painting just shows how we can all interpret differently, a lovely very loose version by Lynne Furrer and here is her website
Lynne Furrer
This one is from Judith Knudsen, she has called it Red Party Shoes and I love the sparkle she has added from the top shoe, what a lovely touch that is!!
How fab is this one??? I love the angle and background of this one it just shouts "look at me" the title is Killer Heels and painted by Cherry Aaron.
This is the second painting from Sandy Drexel. She was really brave and decided to go straight in with the paint, no predrawing!! We do try and encourage this in the group as drawing can keep your work tighter encouraging you to keep to the lines and as this is the loose group we use all tools at our disposal!! This was such a good try and am quite sure I could not have managed it as well as this!
This was another in drawing attempt and again I was totally in awe of how Penny Bantle managed this one... can you see how she has signed her name as a tatoo? How cool is that?
Here is Sharon Whitley's lovely version, Sharon never fails to impress and you will not be disappointed if you visit her blog
The Rambling Artist
As I mentioned earlier, I post the image for inspiration as much as anything and group members can always use a different photo if they wish which is exactly what Elise chose to do... still red shoes but different and equally impressive... I love the signature too!!
This penultimate one is by the actual photographer herself.. Freda Austin Nichols... this is such a lovely crisp version full of light and interest... some people have such a lot of talent.... photographer and artist at this level!!!
This is my effort, 2nd attempt and a bit of tweaking but generally quite happy with the outcome. I think we have all got a bit of a bug for painting shoes now as everyone seemed to really enjoy this one... watch out for a few more of these.
I think you can see there are some pretty good efforts here and since we started the group almost exactly 2 years ago there has been a lot of progress and improvement. Activity comes and goes as people have busy lives..... yours truly included, but there is a core of super artists who post and comment and generally make a fantastic contribution to help others grow and develop.
What a great challenge. Such a strong image to start with - wow to be able to walk (without falling over) in shoes like those. I love how they all have a different feel. Some make me think of dancing, some relaxing, one made me think of dancing on puddles. Love them all.
ReplyDeleteAren't they just fantastic Carmen? I love them all too. It never ceases to amaze me how all these different paintings can happen from one image as you say all with different feels and moods!!
DeleteI was about to type nearly word for word your reply above Judith, a great shoe collection LOL
ReplyDeleteShows that there is such a lot of talent out there Lorraine and though we may be influenced by others, our own style seems to shine through!!
DeleteAn impressive 'gallery', and many different ways of interpreting the same image. Judith, you have been doing a great job of running the loose group, keeping us 'loosies' in check, and your handy hints and suggestions for each image have been very helpful. We have all improved vastly since following along each month. Your critiques, and those of other artists on the loose group, have always been helpful and appreciated. There are also many painting hints and tips, with links to helpful and inspirational websites, making the loose group on PaintMyPhoto a great learning resource.
ReplyDeletePlus, Judith, your blog is always a joy to follow.
Mike.
Wow am not sure I deserve all that lovely praise Mike!! But thank you so much for your support and I do have to say the group is very much a collective effort. When we started we were all in the same boat getting there by trial and error and everyone helped each other which is why the group has such a collective spirit!! I was never the expert, just chose the images and co-ordinated things, we have a brilliant little team now, as you say with lots of help from some wonderful artists.
DeleteDelighted you enjoy the blog Mike, I love writing it so no effort really!!
How lovely to see all our paintings "reunited" here in your blog! I really enjoy all your challenges; and even if I don't maybe take part every time, they are still thought provoking and inspire my own work. It's also great to see other artist's interpretations of the references you post. Thanks for all the effort you have put into this group over these two years, it's greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteElise it has been a pleasure to be to be part of the group as I have learned so much as well... you were there at the beginning so am delighted you still find it challenging and inspiring... no worries if you can't do every image, as you know there is no compulsion to do anything, art should be fun and light hearted so your contribution is very welcome whenever you can manage it and as you know I am very grateful for the comments and help you give to the other artists!!
DeleteI find it fascinating to see one photo and all the different versions, and every one so good too.
ReplyDeleteThey are all so good aren't they, that's why I felt I had to share them all on here, people have made such progress and this wasn't an easy image, but everyone seemed really pleased with their efforts so a really good exercise!!
DeleteIn some cases it is hard to 'read' which is the leg at the back. This is probably because of the way the light catches it. The more successful paintings seem to provide a distinct clue to help the viewer sort out this difficulty.
ReplyDeleteGood point Bernice and I think looking at mine I could probably do with darkening the back jeans a touch, well spotted!!
DeleteReally enjoyed reading this Judith and loved seeing the different versions. And of course I was dying to have a go myself by the end! Thank you for a fascinating blog post.
ReplyDeleteAnn
Thanks Ann would love to see what you do with it, let me know if you get round to painting it, it is such a fabulous image and has been attempted many times on the Paint my Photo site.
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