Photo vs Life

There are artists who sit in studios and use reference photos and then there are artists who sit outside and paint the world in front of them

Real vs Gaming

I personally use reference photos to draw from as I have had many times where I have simply been too slow and careful with my work that my subject or scene has simply gone. For example sunsets disappear so quickly that you cannot capture the true beauty of it if you are a slow artist, just like me.

Ricardo Garduno draws from reference photos

With reference photos you can also easily draw grids to check things such as positioning and proportion. I draw lots of people such as actors and singers (my most recent piece is on One Direction) and to get the proportion of the faces, the position of the eyes, lips and nose just right, I use a grid. Not everyone likes using a grid though as some people draw it on too hard and then cannot get rid of the evidence when they complete the drawing itself. Some people also struggle with grids and photos compared to painting or drawing from life because they cannot see the 3D of the world in a photo. Artists sometimes prefer to sit outside the same time repeatedly till they compete a painting or a drawing of a landscape or even a person.

Rob Pointon paints from real life

Life can be difficult though, unless you are a quick artist. The world moves so quickly and yet so slowly that the moment can be gone within seconds. Doing art from life however can also have its benefits as you can compare the piece of art to the real thing or even get the correct colour by simply comparing it there and then. Doing art from life also gives artists the opportunities to show of their work and their process of their art as almost free advertising.

There are four types of artists in the world. Ones that like to draw from pictures. Ones that like to draw from real life. Ones that like to draw free hand or from memory. And ones who really don't care.

Online or On Show?

As we rely more and more on technology, are the traditional art galleries going to die out?

Art galleries are famous around the world from the Tate Gallery in London to the Louvre Museum in Paris where the Mona Lisa is. But as we become more reliant on the use of computers and technology, we are able to view all of these images online without the expense of travelling, getting in and everything else in between. However, does this mean that our traditional art galleries are going to die out due to the technology boom?

"Anyone who relishes art should love the extraordinary diversity and psychic magic of our art galleries. There's likely more combined square footage for the showing of art on one New York block - West 24th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues - than in all of Amsterdam's or Hamburg's galleries." Jerry Saltz

Girl With A Pearl Earring

Many people nowadays can simply type into Google the image that they wish to see, for example Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, and then view it there and then online. Online you can also reach all the information about the painting literally at your fingertips. However many people will argue that this is no way near the feeling that you experience when you see a painting like the Mona Lisa or the Girl With A Pearl Earring.

Going to an art gallery means that you experience the true atmosphere of being in the presence of a work of art produced by perhaps one of the worlds most famous artists. I personally have not been to a large art gallery such as the Tate Gallery in London, however I find that looking online you just get a photo and the information however you do not get the experience of being there with the artwork and you also do not get the chance to say that you have seen it with your own eyes.

Some people believe that art galleries are for old people or sophisticated people. The people who say this are obviously very stereotypical and do not want to experience the culture that is worldwide. The art that has inspired perhaps the world that we live in today. Art galleries are for everyone from every background of every age. They are, definitely in my opinion, much better than staring at a screen.

 "You've got to invest in the world, you've got to read, you've got to go to art galleries, you've got to find out the names of plant. You've got to start to love the world and know about the whole genius of the human race. We're amazing people." Vivienne Westwood