How to Paint Photos on Canvas - Cool Picture Effects Secrets Painting from live subjects can be problematic for many reasons. First, most live subjects cannot hold a pose indefinitely (house plants excepted), so your painting sessions will be limited to short periods of time, and whatever pose the subject strikes will change slightly from one session to the next. In addition, live subjects are vulnerable to conditions like changing light and changing weather (if the painting is outdoors). For this reason, many painters now paint from photographs. The images in photographs are unchanging, photographs are easily portable and the artist need not deal with the hassle of coordinating painting sessions with live subjects.
• Set up your canvas in a well-lit environment where you can paint undisturbed. Place the canvas on an easel, and position the photograph on or near the easel in a place where you can see it. Many artists prefer to tape the photograph to the easel. If you're a particularly messy painter, you may need to have multiple copies of the single photograph to work from, assuming that you'll be splattering paint onto the image. Place the palette nearby, and squeeze small amounts of paint onto the palette.
• Draw the outline of all the major subjects in the photograph and the largest, most important details. Don't worry too much about accuracy at this point--the outline is only meant to be a guideline. However, if you're having a hard time drawing the outline realistically, try dividing the photograph into quarters (four equal parts) and divide the canvas into four equal parts. The outline will become easier to draw if you divide the image into smaller, more manageable parts.
• Thin the paint on the palette, using the paint thinner appropriate to the medium. Add paint thinner by dipping the paintbrush into the thinner and then by mixing it into the paint. If you're painting with acrylic, water is an appropriate thinner. If you're painting with oil, turpentine or white spirits work. Paint a quick, thin coat of paint on the canvas. The paint colors you select should correspond somewhat to the colors in the photograph. Don't paint shadows or highlights at this point, and leave out the details. Use a mediumsized or large paintbrush.
• Switch to a smaller medium-sized paint brush. Mix the paint for the highlights and shadows for the painting. Use white, yellow or light paint to make the highlights, and use dark colors (but not black) for the shadows. Add the shadows and highlights to the subject of the painting as they correspond to the photograph.
• Switch to an even smaller paintbrush to paint the details on the photograph. Start flicking your eyes back and forth between the photograph and the painting. Look for differences in the shapes that you see. It may help to blur your vision while you perform this action. Turn the photograph and the painting upside down for a while and paint upside down--this is an old trick that helps you to look at the image in a way that is fresh and free from your preconceived notions of what you think your painting looks like.
Set your painting aside for several days or weeks, and come back to it when you've had enough time to forget what the painting looks like. This way, you will see the painting as it really is, and any major errors should jump out at you. Fix any errors (painting upside down may help again).
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