PaintMyPhoto Newsletter 2

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Welcome... The Basics...2

Coffee Man by Brian Morrison

Congratulations to

Brian Morrison

Chosen as winner of

the April Challenge

‘Tonal Interpretations’

Read all about it Inside

this issue!

Yes it is finally here! The second PMPNewsletter. I hope you enjoy reading ina little more detail about some of theexciting things members are doing onthe site.

Roy Simmons.



Challenge Winners

You will have noticed Brian Morrison’s excellent ‘Coffee Man’ on the coverof this newsletter. Brian was chosen as the overall winner of the AprilChallenge ‘Tonal Interpretations’. We also feature here Nicola, Michael andNancy. We must also thank our new ‘Challenge Guru’ Suzanne, who isrunning things for us, over to Her for some excellent ‘virtual interviews’ ofour Artists. (RS)

APRIL 2012 PAINTING CHALLENGE: TONAL INTERPRETATIONS

The month of April 2012 brought us out of a long and fierce winter in

many areas of the world. But before we left the black and white of winter,

we challenged all of our PMP artists to make a one color only painting; a

Monochrome. The challenge was called Tonal Interpretations, using any

photo on PMP, any medium, any size....but with only ONE COLOR.

The challenge was met with over 25 very creative entries! We chose one

Grand Prize Winner, and three runners' up. Their work, along with a little

"Q &A" with each of them, is in this issue of PMP's second newsletter.

Our Grand Prize Winner is Brian Morrison, who painted a portrait using

only Nescafe Coffee! Let's get to know him a bit better…

Brian, when and how did you know you wanted to be an artist, and can

you tell us a little about the art you like to create?

I was coached and encouraged by my parents from a very early age. They

always told me that I "was going to be an artist", so I assumed that they

would be correct. That's what you expect when you are five years old! I

have always been drawn to art that is 'less than mainstream'. I have

dabbled in animation, pyrography, (wood burning), caricatures and

silhouette cutting. The last two have earned me money, and have been

doing so for the last sixteen years. So I suppose you can now see why

painting with coffee attracted me.

As the Grand Prize Winner of the April "Tonal Interpretation" painting

challenge using only one color for your painting, what or who inspired you

to paint your entry, "Mr. Forbes," with Nescafe' coffee? Have you painted

in this unusual "medium" before?

Artist Interviews by Suzanne Wallick

Artist : Brian Morrison.

Source Photo: Li Newton



Challenge Winners

The April challenge came about at the right time for me, as I had just attempted to recreate an old sepia photograph I had found

on Morguefile using coffee as a medium. It was one of those stern looking family portraits. I used thin washes - gradually building

up the painting in layers. When the challenge came along I decided to try something with a stronger contrast and light source. Li

Newton's excellent photograph of Mr Forbes was perfect for this.

Were there differences in using coffee, rather than a medium like watercolor, and did you have any problems bringing up a good

range of tones using only the coffee's brown hue for your monochrome painting?

The painting of Mr Forbes was done in two sessions. The brightest areas of the painting were left as white paper, (I should say card

stock). I roughly painted in all the mid tones and left it to dry. I then ensured that the coffee was of a thick enough consistancy to

add the darkest tones. The area around the eyes was also left white. I added the details here last. It is the reflection of light in his

eyes that makes the original photograph so appealing. One thing that I have learned is that coffee, as a medium, cannot be removed

once it has dried. This was the main difference to using watercolour.

Did you sketch your monochrome portrait of Mr. Forbes first, or did you just jump right in with your "java" paint and "wing it?" Were

you pleased with the outcome of the painting? Would you recommend this type of painting to other artists?

I did a light pencil sketch first for Mr Forbes. As I mentioned in the last answer, there is not much room for error in coffee painting,

so proprtions had to be correct. I felt it reminded me very much of my woodburning days. The finished effect is very similar.

What did you look for in a photo for this particular challenge and how important to you, as an artist, are the multitude and variety of

photos available on Paint My Photo?

Choosing a photograph to work from was easy. There are so many wonderful photographers on PMP. I am so grateful for the

opportunity to use their work.




Challenge Winners

If you had an alter ego, who could make any type of painting at all, what kind of work would he create? Can you describe how hewould paint the photo of Mr. Forbes that you used for reference?

Alter ego??? I have too many of them already! :-) I once saw a picture of the Mona Lisa displayed in the

Ripley's Museum in Florida. It had been created using small squares of toasted bread. An amazing idea -

and very effective! Watch this space!

Your coffee painting is a winner, Brian! We're so glad you have become a member of PMP, and that you share your work with us!

Could you remind us of your personal website and any other venues where we can view the work that you have painted?

Congratulations, and thanks, Brian, for participating in the April challenge! We hope you will continue to enjoy the inspiration you

find at PMP for many years to come!

My work can be seen in various places on line. PMP for a start. I also update my blog quite regularly and display my work there. It is

titled 'Life of Brian', You can also follow me on twitter, where I go under the name @Ripintier.

Finally, why not add me as a friend on Facebook.

Thanks once again to Suzanne who has done a fantastic job organising all these wonderful contributions, and also Roy

of course! What can I say? A wonderful site!


http://glenapp.blogspot.co.uk/

http://glenapp.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=600237266



Challenge Winners

Continuing Suzanne’s interviews now with our runners up, Nancy, Nicolaand Michael.

Interview with Nancy Wininger,

What can you briefly tell us about yourself and your creative endeavors?

Do you have a personal website (or other venue) you would like to share

with us so we can see more of your work?

No personal venue or website except PMP. Live in Fairhope Alabama,

teach colored pencil classes to adults and summer art camp for kids. Will

be teaching acrylic in the fall as well. I love watercolor but it escaped me

until I decided that the only way I would do it was detailed. I tried being

washy but that doesn't work for me. So as a result, my watercolor and

colored pencil both might look like acrylic when I get through with it. I

learn something new everyday and strive to be the best at whatever I do.

As challengers and runners up of the April Tonal Interpretation

Challenge on PMP, what inspired you to choose the photo you used as

reference, and the ONE COLOR in which you chose to paint your

monochrome piece? As you look back, would you have chosen a different

photo, and used some other color?

My granddaughter is beautiful and I know she loves purple so that I why

I chose her picture and the color as well. No other photo comes to mind

and I have always wanted to do a monochrome anyway so the challenge

was perfect for me.

What challenges did you find in painting with only one color in your chosen

medium? Did you enjoy painting this way, and would you do it again? Any

tips for other artists in painting in monochrome?


Other Selected Works

Top: Nancy Wininger

Middle NicolaB

Bottom: Michael Yates



Challenge Winners

Making sure the value was appropriate for the area I was working. I did

enjoy painting this way and would do it again sometimes. I believe that it

helps to learn how to see values and can be used in any painting. In fact I

would say that values are the most important part of a painting.

I think you will agree with me that Paint My Photo is a greatcommunity to be a member of, and I hope you enjoy it asmuch as I do...but out of curiosity, how did you come tofind out about PMP and what significance has it had on yourwork?

One of my fellow artists told me about it. I love it at first site! I found the

photographs inspiring and the fact that I can use them was all the more

wonderful. I love to see how other artists interpret the photographs and

can learn from that too. I appreciate the photographers so much and can't

thank them enough. I am not a photographer so would never have enough

resources from which to paint. I tell all my students about the site and have

gotten great feedback from them about it. To all the photographers:

Whether I use the photos or not I really enjoy looking at them and seeing

the wonderful compositions, exciting colors, and thoughtful scenes and I

want to thank you all for sharing these with all members of PMP.....and

keep up the great work.

Interview with NicolaB






Top: Nancy Wininger

Middle NicolaB




Challenge Winners

.

Although I enjoyed painting as a child, I did not do any painting or drawing

for many years after leaving school. Apart from doodling with my sons

when they were young!! Then in 1998, I came across a TV programme

called Watercolour Challenge. I was fascinated by three people creating

three very different paintings from the same scene. I did not consider

painting, myself, until the 4th and last series in 2001 when my family

persuaded me to 'have a go'. My progress has been very slow!

About 4 years ago I started seriously drawing as well. I still feel very much

a beginner with watercolour but I am more at ease drawing. Watercolour

is still the medium that I love most and drawing second. I intend to try soft

pastels and coloured pencils eventually.

I have a page on Fine Art America






The beautiful photo by Edmond Williams stood out for me as soon as I saw

it.. I really liked the light on the flower against the dark background and I

was fairly sure it would make a successful drawing. When I started the

drawing I didn't initially consider the Tonal challenge. That came later when

my drawing looked like it would turn out okay!






Top: Nancy Wininger

Middle NicolaB


http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/nicola+butt/all



Challenge Winners

I think, for a successful drawing or monochrome painting, there needs to

be a good range of tones from the very light to the very dark. Converting a

photo to black and white is a big help. I have never painted in monochrome

but I think the colour I would choose would be connected with the

subject.

I think you will agree with me that Paint My Photo is a greatcommunity to be a member of, and I hope you enjoy it asmuch as I do...but out of curiosity, how did you come tofind out about PMP and what significance has it had on yourwork?

PMP is an excellent site and a very valuable asset for artists. I first heard

about it in a comment on idrawandpaint. I have always enjoyed taking

photos but since being a member , I take a LOT more!

Interview with Michael Yates






Top: Nancy Wininger

Middle NicolaB




Challenge Winners

I started painting in watercolour about 3 years ago and was not happy

producing flat, lifeless pictures so I have tried to copy many artists' style.

On a visit to the library I came across a book by John Blockley and

immediately took to the way he interpreted nature.

Since then I have tried to use a loser style but find it so hard to stop myself

adding detail. I don't think I will ever 'develop my own style', I enjoy trying

different things all the time.

Last year on holiday in Sussex I went to an exhibition by Jeanette Clarke

and loved the way she presented paintings of buildings with a lot of white

space. I have tried her approach on a lot of pictures during the past year

but am nowhere near her skill level. Photos of my paintings, besides those

on PMP, are on ‘idraw and paint’






It was a no-brainer for me. Ruth Archer's photo of a Venetian canal was

entitled Siennas and Ochres and, apart from the blue tarpaulins on the

gondolas, was as near to one colour as I could want. The only other

contender I found was Ruth's photo entitled Santa Maria della Salute which

I could have painted as a B&W using Payne's Grey but I liked the idea of

trying Yellow Ochre and am pleased that I did. My thanks go to Ruth for

sharing her photos with us.



Top: Nancy Wininger

Middle NicolaB


http://community.how-to-draw-and-paint.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=2hrhkgnfgfo8i





Challenge Winners




As I draw a lot, I am used to monochrome pictures but my main challenge

for a 'coloured' monochrome was getting the tones correct. For Siennas

and Ochres I drew two sketches using a 4B pencil to highlight the diferent

tonal areas.

I had painted one monochrome (almost) before for the 'two colour'

challenge in October '11. I really enjoy the challenge and have been pleased

with my results.

I'm not expert enough to give tips but my approach to Siennas and Ochres

was as follows:

i. identified the range of tones that the picture was to contain

ii. mixed up 3 large washes of the chosen colour - light, medium and dark.

ii. left the lightest tonal areas of the painting white

iii. started the painting with the light wash

iv. added the dark wash areas

v. used the medium wash to add shape

vi. left to dry - when everything lightened up!!

vii. used the 3 washes (and mixes of them) to intensify the tones and add

depth

viii. left some of the lightest tonal areas white and diluted the light wash to

use on some.

think you will agree with me that Paint My Photo is a greatcommunity to be a member of, and I hope you enjoy it asmuch as I do...but out of curiosity, how did you come tofind out about PMP and what significance has it had on yourwork?



Top: Nancy Wininger

Middle NicolaB




Challenge Winners

Like a lot of people I searched the net for 'free' photos that I could try to

paint. The copyright aspect of copying other people's photos worried me

but luckily I came across PMP and was immediately spoilt for choice.

It has a fantastic collection of photos and it is interesting to see other

people's interpretations of them. I was surprised to see that Roy only lived

a few miles from me.

I go to two art clubs and am always telling people about the PMP web site

that Roy set up. When I joined PMP you could upload a lot of photos in a

session and I did. I think it is great to offer people the chance to have ago at

one of my photos and love to see the results of those that do.

After the rules changed to help manage the disk space, I started up my

own extension to PMP in order to share many more of my photos.

They can be found at paintphotos.co.uk

Well I think you will agree, worthy ‘winners’ and although it may sound a

cliché, every one of you who creates, whether with brush or camera are

winners. Making Art is worth doing, worth studying, and life enhancing.

Whatever you perceive as your level of skill, I am sure I speak for our

interviewees when I say that the journey is also the destination. So I just

want to again thank Suzanne our ‘Challenge Guru’ who is doing such a

great job.

RS.



Top: Nancy Wininger

Middle NicolaB



http://www.paintphotos.co.uk/








I Packed My Bags

It’s that time of year again when we are looking forward to that well-earned

holiday, perhaps a sleepy Greek island, a bustling city or on the ocean waves.

How many times have you reached your destination, seen the

beauty that surrounds you, and regretted not taking some art

materials with you? I know I have more times than I care to

remember!

The recent change to hand luggage content has also contributed to making

carrying liquid materials all the more troublesome. However, I have devised

a method that enables me to carry enough materials in my suitcase without

compromising weight and space that I thought others might find useful.

My travelling kit consists of:

A small Colman’s Mustard tin in which I carry my watercolour paints (any

small tin will do – it stops them getting squashed)

A small artist’s sketchbook (A6)

Watercolour paper cut down into small pieces sandwiched between two

pieces of cardboard – usually the backs of old watercolour or drawing pads.

I don’t carry anything larger than A5, usually smaller.

A wrap containing

Whatever pencils I decide to take

An eraser

Swan Stabilo water-soluble pens (cheap as chips and brilliant to use)

A few watercolour brushes, plus a brush with handle that contains

water that you squeeze to release.

And in them I put…



I Packed My Bags

Travelling with just a few selected watercolour paints is marvellous for

helping to develop a limited palette – I try to carry only one red, one yellow

and one blue, plus burnt sienna and Winsor Violet. I try to assess

in advance which combination will best suit my destination.

Some of my favourite triads are:

Permanent Rose, Quinacridone Gold & Cobalt Blue

Alizarin Crimson, Raw Sienna & Ultramarine Blue

Alizarin Crimson, Indian Yellow & Prussian Blue

I use other combinations as well – why not try some of your favourite

colours and see what works for you?

I hope this will inspire you to find a little space in your suitcase!

Ruth Archer

And in them I put…

Ruth Archer is an Administrator on

PMP and heavily involved in the

technical aspects of the site as well

as an Artist and Photographer.

One of Ruth’s Venice Photos



Nature V Nurture

I have just started trying to set up my own website....... am only on the

first page so far and the first thing which strikes me is there are so many

decisions to be made and decisions and I don't go together, can always see

too many options then am doomed!!! So I can see this will be a long

process if I have to deliberate over every aspect!!!!! Will need to pursue this

as I can't afford to actually have one built so may take a while but will keep

at it.

As I was writing the "About" bit it seemed relevant to mention desire which

I know is absolutely key to improving as an artist. Desire will drive

everything you need to do. I believe we are all born with our designated,

genetic amount of talent, intelligence, personality etc etc, but the key is

how do we use that? Very much a nature versus nurture discussion.

This is how I think about it.

Imagine our talent is like an elastic band and we are all born with our own

unique band... that band might be thick, thin, long or short but that is

where we start. The crucial bit is what influences our band and how much

we are then able to stretch it. Someone who has no access to a musical

instrument or has never learned to read music may never discover they

have perfect pitch, their musical band remains unstretched , it may be a

lovely thick juicy band, whose stretchabilty knows no bounds but its

potential will never be recognised. Someone who has a much smaller band

but has been introduced to the wonders of music may stretch their band to

a much greater size possibly because of their own desire and the

opportunities afforded them.

From Judith Farnworths Blog

Judith is known to many of you as

the leader of the Loose Watercolor

group. She also has a blog, well

worth following.

I was really blown away by this Blog

post of Judith’s. She has put into

words how I feel about talent, and

the desire to create. I am so grateful

She gave permission for me to

reproduce it here The paintings on

the following 2 pages are by Judith

http://judithfarnworthart.blogspot.co.uk/



Nature V Nurture

And so it is with art..... some will be blessed with awesome talent which

neither they, nor the rest of the world will ever come to recognise. Either

their talent has never been awakened or maybe they don't have the desire

to pursue it and that is where the rest of us come in......just how big our

artistic band is, becomes somewhat irrelevant when pitched against desire.

Desire will stretch your elastic band as far as you will ever want, the human

potential knows no bounds when it is married to desire. Desire will teach

you everything...... it will push you to practice, to seek knowledge, improve

technique, experiment. Desire is all it takes, you DO NOT need any

special talent you just need to want to do it..... anyone can paint and how

good we become depends on how far we stretch our elastic band, it will

never snap it will stretch to wherever you need it to stretch to. Please

think about this whenever you are feeling despondent... you can do it,

practice will help you both improve and cultivate the desire, the more you

do the more you will want to do.......I am living proof that desire rather

than innate talent is what is needed....... here endeth the first lesson!!!

Judith Farnworth.

From Judith Farnworths Blog

Judith is known to many of you as

the leader of the Loose Watercolor

group. She also has a blog, well

worth following.

http://judithfarnworthart.blogspot.co.uk/



Roy’s Ramblings

Time moves on and PMP continues to grow steadily, we now have over 30,000 photos and around 3,500

members (June 2012). It seems we are here to stay and I need to think how we can progress. One thing I would

like to do is get the site to the point where we no longer have to ask for donations. Before I say any more let me

say that we owe a debt of gratitude to those who have generously donated, you all know who you are, thanks so

much.

So there are ways of raising funds for the site, one way is to charge for membership THIS WILL NEVER

HAPPEN!! So please don’t worry on that score. Another way is with some advertising, which we are doing. I

have been having some technical issues with that, but that is another story. Still another way, and this is quite

exciting in my opinion, is with ebooks and other products made by members with the support and help of myself

and others. We have some amazing Artists on here and I am sure that there is a book or two in many of them! It

is easy to think you can only make a book, or an instructional video etc if you have somehow been anointed as an

‘expert’ perhaps by being a full time Artist (we do have quite a few of those) however it may be that you have a

particular skill in an area that others struggle with. Assembling that knowledge into a readable, logical, well

illustrated form could benefit many. All I need is the words and the photos to put together into an E book. A

revenue share with the site would be agreed, If this goes ahead it will be a standard arrangement across the

board. Anyone interested please contact me, all will remain private until you are ready to announce your book to

the world!

If you have ever thought there may be an instructional Art book in you, but the technical aspects of getting it

produced and marketed put you off, this could be the way for you to try the water.

Now the above was written before I discovered another new and VERY exciting development with google+

hangouts (hangouts are video chats with up to 9 people) Just last Month Google announced that hangouts could

be broadcast on the web. They show up on youtube as a live broadcast which anyone can view, and also are then

saved to youtube for later viewing as well. Rather than discuss that here I would like you to hop on the site and

read this forum post.

Finally an apology- I have been neglecting our photographers L Please forgive ! Next issue will be a

photography special so any ideas for articles would be appreciated!

Happy Creating Everyone!

Roy

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/forum/topics/out-with-the-old-media-in-with-the-new

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