So, when I do still life, I often work from my own photos, using one of those digital desktop photo frames to hold my photo. This works pretty well; the screen is bright, and it's much better color matching than trying to print the photos out. I do it for a few reasons, including the changing state of the subject (as with ice cream) or the fear that my cats will try to attack or eat my subjects.
But, I do think that my small trompe l'oeil pieces are technically better works most of the time because for those, I always work from life, with the subject directly next to my painting surface on my easel. I see all of the detail, and the lighting is more within my control.
Today, I thought I'd try to do a still life straight from life, and I'm pretty pleased with the result.
Photography - or at least my limited photography abilities - tend to wash out some of the details of a subject. Things become too evenly lit. There is a loss of drama. I think this piece retained the drama pretty well. And although one of my cats did try to eat the donuts several times, I kept my blue spray bottle nearby - a little shake of the water and she's off the table!
Thanks for looking!
