Amazing! That's all I can say. I've watched hundreds of hours of art instruction, from dozens of artist on the web but no one has ever really gotten to the core fundamentals of what makes a good painting. It's like you're pulling back the curtains and revealing what's underneath - a hidden world. I've been painting for a few years now and sometimes compositions work and sometimes they don't. I'm starting to understand why. And I'm also beginning, for the first time, to really appreciate what makes good art. I thank you for that Ian.
This was a fantastic video! I have been sketching compositions more and more before painting and I do find that it helps me to decide, sometimes, not even to paint that scene! Which in the end is better bc I skip the whole part about being disappointed when a painting doesn’t turn out! This video only confirms that process for me. I used to just have this urge, “gotta paint that!” I feel like your channel has helped me focus that creative passion to help me very intentionally use my skills of planning to help me be creative rather than acting upon my impulse. Thank you so much, Ian! I’ve been watching your channel for months now and have been meaning to tell you thank you!
Thank you Ian, for a wonderfully exciting week! Loved the live video from the week-end and this is such a helpful lesson. I will come back to this many times, I feel. Your weekly presents to us are a joy.
You make it seem so simple. Now I want to start going through our hundreds of photos with new eyes. Not just looking for my favorite scenes, but looking for ones with potential. Thank you!
i already knew that planning is one of those keys to success in oil paiting, but really... by seeing how these photos translate to your sketches... well, now it all makes sense
I’m a beginner painter/artist at 62 yr old. That’s a capital B eginner and lower case a artist. I’ve taken art lessons from a local art center but mostly self learning. I gotta say Ian, your videos are incredibly generous. I believe you divulge information that many if not most capitol A Artists just would not. Not without a fee anyways. I get more inspired to paint by watching these lessons. And that’s exactly what they are, lessons. Thank you thank you thank you.
It is so generous of you to share your thought processes . Novices like us benefit immensely from that, as they resonate with the kind of confusions we grapple with quite often.
Thank you for your encouraging words, Ian. You let us know it is perfectly normal to struggle to get something good and then show how you overcame the problems.
This was not depressing at all, this makes me feel much better about having such a hard time to pick paintable photos out of my huge collection. Knowing it's not just me makes a big difference! Thanks for caring and posting!
Dear Mr. Roberts, Your teachings have been precious and very inspiring to me. I’m revisiting my photos from a new perspective. Thank you so very much...
This was great! I also take many photographs every day on my walks and paint from them. I could see a sort of rhythm and balance of light/dark areas in the preferred pictures. I find that in flat light conditions the juxtaposition of the shapes becomes important. Thank you so much! Your contribution is immense!
Another super interesting video. It is actually quite heartening to hear that you might only select 1 in a 100 of your photos for a painting subject as I have discovered with my own photos that very few of them inspire me towards the easel. It is also extremely interesting to see how you analyse the features of a photo - in design terms - to work out whether it will work as a painting. You're work is so inspiring & your explanations of what you're looking for in any image seem so logical once you have pointed them out. Thank you once again, Ian.
This video really helped me see design elements in photos and explained how to simplify scenes. I am going out on a photo shoot now that I have more of an idea of what to look for! Thank you!
I, personally, really appreciate the simplicity of your words and explanations as well as your genuine personal simplicity. Always very didactic and unpretentious. Bravo. I know that you stopped making videos)which I understand), but I wanted to say bravo. Fred (Frenchman living in Australia)
I'm delighted you find the videos helpful. I'm still posting videos so make sure you're signed up on my email list so you get notifications. ianroberts.com
Yes, excellent instruction about the process. I live on the California coast and there seems to be exactly the same issues around composition that you addressed. Thank you for walking us through how to choose compositions that can work.
Ian, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts; sharing thoughts and sharing time - which you do too - is the best to give and to get! Love, Charlotte
I have so many city photos (mainly Madrid) which I want to do some paintings and more loose urban sketches. This video is just what I needed to help me know how best to go about selecting photos and cropping to get better composition for my reference. Thank you so much Ian Roberts.
You make painting easy :) I appreciate the synthesis you make of a complex image. I'm learning a lot from your videos, especially how to observe and "read in between lines". Thank you! 🙏✨
It's fascinating to learn to see structure as you see it. Learning to see is what art is all about. Once you see, you can describe as you learn to manipulate the medium you're working with. Outstanding helpful video!
Wow, Thank you so much Ian, I am a rookie in watercolor painting and yet have not come across a someone who makes philosophy into form and color with such vividness and clarity of thought and display. 🙏. I love it. You are my mentor💫
That's amazing. I was at your live session on Saturday, have watched the 20 minute video a number of times and have been absorbing your book for the past 3 or 4 weeks. I was sat here browsing perhaps 2-300 photos, musing on the differences between a good photo and a good painting. I thought, if I could ask Ian a question, I'd ask about his process for evaluating photos - and it popped up here! Thank you once again :)
BRILLIANT! I loved this one Ian - very helpful to see your thinking process as you evaluate photos. It's hard to let go of subject matters you really get excited about but if there isn't a good foundation for a painting - well all that excitement just turns to frustration. Will watch this one again!
Hi Janet, you sort of hit the nail on the head with your comment. All that enthusiasm to start, just to get painting, and then finding out that...well, it isn't working. Glad you liked it.
Very educational, Ian Roberts. I learn as much about your preparation and thinking as in your painting. As a watercolor artist, these studies apply equally well. Your video supports my "Think-abouts" during plein air when I walkabout for 5-10 minutes after sketching, psyching myself in preparation for the next hour or so.
Hi Lisa I can't remember what came at 6 minutes but it may be the painting for the following week, the one with the misted out shoreline behind the foreground.
I am re-watching this in preparation of the 30-day challenge at the end of this year's course. I already know I will be traveling for one week and won't be able to draw on location everyday, so I need good photos to fall back on. The ratio of usable photos to photos taken is not unknown to me from my personal photographic experience, but it is still daunting. What I am learning in the course about editing is going to help.
I always find that when I feel a certain upwelling of joy from within taking a picture, then THAT's the one that gets to me emotionally, and chances are, I'll probably hang in there long enough to actually put it down on canvas. 😍
Thank you for all the videos you shared with audiences. They are very helpful to my painting skills. because you analyze the painting scene structure very clear and made great painting out of it. This video is exactly I need to watch and learn. Because I always wondering what photo I use for painting, and end up delete a lot of photos I took. I admit I need this kind of skill to identify good photos and paint some interesting paintings.
Thank you Ian for all the hard work you potting in these videos. It's a lot of information and it's really helpful. It's very interesting to follow artist mind of how to compose a painting (that's why I prefer longer videos...). Referring back to your "4 Fundamental Principles" video, the problem for me is when looking at photo I get confused of what to leave out. for example - it would be hard for me to take out the boat because I'm sure it will be the one thing catching my eye first of all, probably more then the shed... so I'll feel I left out something significantly important to the place I'm painting. Or even stumble across the log lying in the foreground which I agree it's not very attractive but it will fool me as an element to draw your eyes into the painting... Landscape versus painting - what to leave out?
Hi Orly, so much of it is seeing the photo, or the scene if it's live, in terms of design, not subject. Your example of the boat is perfect. Of course you're in Maine, you have to have a fishing boat. There are a dozen narrative ideas, stories, subject driven that say keep the boat. But from a design stand point it's just a distraction. Really it's a sort of right brain (design) over left brain (subject) way of looking.
Absolutely helpful. Capturing that perfect image is a great process, and I love not limiting myself while I am taking the photographs so I too end up with several images to choose from. Then your sketch demonstration really helps to eliminate and narrow down which image to paint. Thank you.
Thank you once again for those excellent insights. Living in flat farmland Michigan, most of my photos are not too interesting. I see the need to get out and explore more and look for those big shapes leading to my point of interest. Reviewing thousands of my old photos I see very few that inspire a painting. I am excited to go out again with your ideas in mind and try again.
Ian, thank you for sharing your thoughts on selecting the right photos to paint. Cropping and simplifying images to paint also has been my problem. You’re such a good teacher. Thank you 🙏
Tired of hearing “ WOw! You are SUCH a great teacher!” yet? 🤣🤣 hope not as I can’t stop thinking and saying it and sharing your name and books. I love how you took us through the steps you -the master- still make and sometimes decide meh that won’t work... even when you love the image.. I need to learn to let that love of the image go and move to one that will work and not plague me half way through...baby steps eh? Good to see the cozy sweater back. 🤣🤣. Oh, and where exactly did you go for these amazing views? I want to go for that walk along the cliff. Many thanks.
Hi Alison, well it makes me happy to hear you are enjoying the videos. It's a new cozy sweater. Exactly the same but new. We were in Cambria, up the CA coast from Santa Barbara. All the best.
Wonderful as always. Big thumbs up for your live presentation this past weekend. I had to watch it in recording bc it was on at midnight in the time zone I am in.
This video was very helpful I learned a lot from watching you explain your process. Can't wait to try this with some of my photos from a recent hiking trip.
You and your wife are so lucky to have such beautiful scenery nearby. The cypresses on the hill with the ocean in the foreground looks like a spot Marcia Burtt plein air painted. Ii is obvious that you enjoy drawing and creating a map or plan. I am more of a what if sort of person and would have probably done some quick, plein air sketches in conjunction with the photos. I have lots of sketches that may become larger studio pieces but I am tempted to look at the photo instead of my plein air sketches/paintings which is not helpful to create looser, more abstract art in my case. Take good care, in these still uncertain times! Appreciate what you do!
HI Susan, smaller quick plein air studies is much the same as my drawing practice. I just find I can go through more ideas more quickly and I'm less invested. And I know what you mean about painting from sketches and finding yourself gravitating back to the photo. I find pushing abstraction hard. I am just working on a video on exactly that now.
The way you describe your thinking about your compositions is so valuable thank you! I really struggle with making good decisions about what to paint and how to judge what will make a strong painting. I seem to be drawn to 'the best looking photo' and I'm not considering what it will be like to actually paint it. Not design driven at all!
That's the trick Susan. It's a shift in awareness really as you know from the subject to the design. It's why so many people say they look at the photo I am starting with and think huh and then they like the painting .I was seeing the design potential and they were seeing a pretty ordinary subject matter.
So helpful- thank you!! Tuesday mornings are the best. Having your wonderful teaching videos right there in my inbox - so inspiring! Can’t wait to again go through my 10,000 photos in my phone and see about some paintings:)
one of my reasons for taking up a pencil etc to draw/watercolour was to improve my photograph, to gain a deeper sense of composition and create my interesting photos. with looking at these posts I'm finding myself challenged and going both directions, painting to photo and photo to paint and back again, and as you say, it is joyful to do....
Very very helpful thank you very much Ian, your are a master at explaining useful concepts. Give us hope for better paintings. Thank you again for saturday! Also a very helpful process. Always a great plaisure to receive your tuesday video. Have a nice week
Thanks for the lesson Ian! It’s great to learn about your process and how to be more critical in choosing a photo for painting. Btw-I thoroughly enjoyed your live session last week. Lots to absorb and apply😊👍
Thanks much for tackling that subject Ian. Good to know my 1 good shot in a week of shooting is the norm! I too enjoy the process. Chasing the light…there’s worst things you could be doing.
I like what you say about enjoying the process Ian; such a good point. Another helpful video. I enjoyed your live stream too but being in New Zealand, 5 a.m. was a bit early for me to watch it in real-time unfortunately . Thanks for your great work!
The good decisions of what to paint leaves you enough time to do these videos - and do a lot of other things rather than being stuck on something that won't work. Very helpful. As it turns out I have not watched the recording of the live video. I did watch the other video you posted last week- great! I was driving up the coast while you had your live youtube. It was a beautiful drive and I wished someone else was driving because I saw so many things I would have liked to have photographed. The vineyards and the rolling hills studded with oaks were gorgeous. However I now think about composition. A lot of those places along the 1010 were beautiful to gaze at but were mostly horizontal lines and might have been boring paintings. Then when I got to my destination in Santa Cruz I took some photos of the beach. Most also too horizontal. There might be one good one. I have the same question as Miki- I wonder if you ever have an idea that you want to paint not from a photo or a single photo?
HI Ejf, I find that too. You drive along the highway and see the potential for something and photograph it and it doesn't look like anything.. I've found you have to stop (obviously not on a family road trip) and walk around and try and find out what it was that caught your attention and see if it adds up. Sometimes it doesn't. Almost always I paint from a single photo. If I were doing a large multi figure painting with tons of reference photos maybe. But a single landscape, pretty much from one photo.
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition I thought about it this morning. Sometimes those beautiful things I see may be best held in my mind. Not everything makes a good painting. I did stop at Fort Roberts to see if there was a view that had painting potential. I did not come up with anything this time. Thanks for satisfying my curiosity about whether you paint from several references sometime. On another subject- I listened to the podcast. The comments about your daughter practicing the piano inspired me to practice my drawing. Study a bit. Good for me to do. Have covid brain from watching too much tv!
Your ratio of images to useful material for painting it is reassuring, I thought what I was able to pick out of what I shoot was very low, but now I know I am right in with the average. Great presentation as always and looking forward to how you will translate your photos into paintings.
Absolutely helpful! This also explains why I have such a hard time finding a spot when I want to go plein air-ing; I often find myself riding around on my bike for so long, the light has gone (lol). Thanks for a very educational vid.
Thank you for the clarification. I too have so many pictures I have taken in Cambria, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, etc. and I love them as they stand however looking at them as paintings seems a bit overwhelming with all that is in the picture. I see now that all the details don't have to be included.
Great video and Saturday was nice as well. I found your channel a couple of weeks ago and have watched about half of the videos - they are all very helpful. You mentioned doing a WC video in future and I’m looking forward to it. I’m 62 and only started painting 11 yrs ago primarily in WC, so I’m thinking your insights regarding composition vs WC will be interesting.
Hi William, I am planning on doing a watercolor demonstration in the next few weeks. I hope you find that helpful since what you mainly see is oils. All the best.
Hi Ian ! Thank you for your time and sharing your photographs together with an explanation on choosing the right one for a painting. I too love taking numerous photographs ! When my husband and I went to Santorini and the Greek islands I took more than 600 photographs 😁 ! I am always blown away by the lights and shadows ! I am just getting to grips with landscape paintings as my usual style is similar to Aboriginal Art and I also do lino prints /woodcuts and stone sculptures. Photographs help me to find strong compositions of strong light and shade which create impact. I love your work because you paint such beautiful paintings with strong lights and darks ! As you know, I am always intrigued and eager to watch you draw a sketch in pencil ! Thank you ever so much and I look forward to more videos and hopefully another Live ! Wish you a great week... Lorraine
Thanks for this wonderful video. Would you please share or demonstration on topics of what should know about plein air and how to paint abstract subjects in the future. Thanks so much!
This is really helpful - thank you! I'm a photographer and the photos that I love seldom turn into good paintings because I think I am not approaching the process properly. Also I think that since I started painting, it is changing the way I compose my photos. Where I once always looked for what drew me, now I'm considering the things you are talking about, like where are the points of interest and asking if I moved the camera position, might I get a picture that was more interesting because it is coming from a different viewpoint than most people get when they are standing. Now I need to do more of the sketches to make sure I'm not just being seduced by light and color.
HI Carol, that is an interesting point. I don't think my photographs are much good as photographs. Occasionally but I'm usually looking for something else. But I could see being caught between the two, good photo, good reference and taking them kind of not quite right for one, not quite right for the other.
Thanks again, Ian! I'm reviewing several of your videos as I'm going out plein air painting tomorrow. I must say again how beautiful your drawings are. I have a new goal to do mine in a 'keeper' sketchbook, not just slap a few thumbnails together! 🤣
Not just me then! I so often find the beautiful image I thought I'd taken doesn't translate at all - although like you I've already had fun taking the picture. This explanation i really helpful and I will look for the video you mention. Thank you!
Thanks Ian! You were in my stomping grounds (Cayucos) so it was especially fun to see your choices. Very useful and good to know how few photos you keep. It seems to be the same for me. Thanks for your ongoing instruction and inspiration!
Really a terrific video, thank you. It was very helpful to see more about your thought processes in choosing your landscapes. I wonder if you ever mix and match different elements from your photos. For example; You have a photo of an interesting tree in an unfortunate landscape, then later use the tree in a different landscape.
Glad you like the video G. A. I very seldom mix pieces of photos. Not for a single landscape. Perhaps for a more complex multi figure painting. But a landscape I tend to look for what is working within one image.
yes you have a great skill for teaching and thank you for sharing that with us. I would have thought maybe you might select aspects of various pics to create single combination out of the 100s of shots. 😊 . I might keep a pic because I like a tree line or a boulder or colour of the sunset, that kind of thing.
Hi Kat, I hardly ever do that, combine parts of different photos. I think I am always trying to get my head around the whole idea of a picture and the idea of having a bunch of parts from several photos seems too disjointed for my way of working. In general anyway. Ii' sure there have been exceptions.
PS I'm reading your book Creative Authenticity and finding it life changing 😊. I read a few pages ea day to let them rumble around in my mind. I look forward to getting the next one, Mastering Composition.🎨
Thank you, Ian, for sharing your thoughts and process. Very, very useful. I guess the same principle applies to watercolour painting. I end up using one out of a very big number of photographs and very often I get stuck half way thru the exercise. I have to remember to draw a small sketch first and analyse. Thank you.
Hi Robin, it is very true that engaging the right side of the brain means creating new neural pathways. You can "solve" or "hack" it. It is a slow push into a new way of thinking. Makes me happy to hear. All the best
Thanks you so much, Ian - it really was incredibly helpful and, Yes, there is great enjoyment in taking photos in the first place. Very helpful video - keep going (I hope). Thanks. Jane
Its really useful to see you go through the decision process with photos that dont work for you and understanding why. Also useful to know the hit rate as I find i need lots and lots to get an idea I like. Finally, i can see the concepts of mass and value working to make a good painting. If I may ask ( and its not too philosophical), what are the top line differences for you between structure, design and composition? What order do you think about them/how do they interact? Thank you as always. Best art tutorials on youtube. Thank you.
So that's a good question. I'd say composition is the umbrella term for the constructing a good painting. Perhaps the two most important elements of composition are design and structure. You've got value, color etc etc too. But structure and design work in conjunction. Sometimes the design will spark the idea, sometimes the structure but they are embedded within one another. Hope that makes sense.
Very helpful, thank you! I have found photos I've taken that I really love, and when I did the thumbnail/notan I found they didn't work, so this really resonated with me. Glad I'm not alone :-)
Thank you. I really enjoy composition and found myself analyzing each photo you put up to see if it had salvageable content for a painting🤔. I found that with some adjusting there was one you rejected that had potential due to the lighting. If I have time I might try a quick practice sketch to see if it works. Loved the lesson!
Hi Judith, I had ticked as pretty good all the ones I showed. They weren't like complete rejects. But I just find two or three tend to stand out for me. And so I head there. But try that image in pencil and see what it offers.
The most professional UA-camr ever, very consistent and super quick intro then straight into the gut of it. Tip of the hat to you Ian.
Thanks so much Peter. I appreciate that.
Ian, you are not only a talented artist but also a brilliant teacher. Thank you for sharing your thought process so well.
Thank you Claude. This makes me very happy to hear.
Amazing! That's all I can say. I've watched hundreds of hours of art instruction, from dozens of artist on the web but no one has ever really gotten to the core fundamentals of what makes a good painting. It's like you're pulling back the curtains and revealing what's underneath - a hidden world. I've been painting for a few years now and sometimes compositions work and sometimes they don't. I'm starting to understand why. And I'm also beginning, for the first time, to really appreciate what makes good art. I thank you for that Ian.
Hi Trevor, that is very kind of you to say so. Thank you.
This was a fantastic video! I have been sketching compositions more and more before painting and I do find that it helps me to decide, sometimes, not even to paint that scene! Which in the end is better bc I skip the whole part about being disappointed when a painting doesn’t turn out! This video only confirms that process for me. I used to just have this urge, “gotta paint that!” I feel like your channel has helped me focus that creative passion to help me very intentionally use my skills of planning to help me be creative rather than acting upon my impulse. Thank you so much, Ian! I’ve been watching your channel for months now and have been meaning to tell you thank you!
HI Laura, that is a really good way to express it. That intentionality before and saves so much heart ache when it doesnt' turn out. Well said.
Thank you Ian, for a wonderfully exciting week! Loved the live video from the week-end and this is such a helpful lesson. I will come back to this many times, I feel. Your weekly presents to us are a joy.
Glad you enjoyed it Beret!
Thank you Stephen
You make it seem so simple. Now I want to start going through our hundreds of photos with new eyes. Not just looking for my favorite scenes, but looking for ones with potential. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
really enjoyed Saturdays live you tube chat and look forward to Tuesdays.
Great. Thank you!
i already knew that planning is one of those keys to success in oil paiting, but really... by seeing how these photos translate to your sketches... well, now it all makes sense
Really delighted to hear that Radek.
I’m a beginner painter/artist at 62 yr old. That’s a capital B eginner and lower case a artist. I’ve taken art lessons from a local art center but mostly self learning. I gotta say Ian, your videos are incredibly generous. I believe you divulge information that many if not most capitol A Artists just would not. Not without a fee anyways. I get more inspired to paint by watching these lessons. And that’s exactly what they are, lessons.
Thank you thank you thank you.
It is so generous of you to share your thought processes . Novices like us benefit immensely from that, as they resonate with the kind of confusions we grapple with quite often.
Thank you so much Krishnan!
Everytime I watch you I learn something! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise. 😊
What a great video. Because you showed us how you think through your own process is huge! So very generous. Thank you for this!
I can definitely relate to the 1 out of 100 photos being paint-worthy. It was nice to see your thought process behind the photos
Wonderful video ! Thank you so much. You are the best teacher out there Ian!
Thank you for your encouraging words, Ian. You let us know it is perfectly normal to struggle to get something good and then show how you overcame the problems.
Thank you Priscilla. Glad you liked it!
This was not depressing at all, this makes me feel much better about having such a hard time to pick paintable photos out of my huge collection. Knowing it's not just me makes a big difference! Thanks for caring and posting!
That's great Norm.
Dear Mr. Roberts, Your teachings have been precious and very inspiring to me.
I’m revisiting my photos from a new perspective. Thank you so very much...
This was great! I also take many photographs every day on my walks and paint from them. I could see a sort of rhythm and balance of light/dark areas in the preferred pictures. I find that in flat light conditions the juxtaposition of the shapes becomes important. Thank you so much! Your contribution is immense!
Wonderful. Glad you liked it Natalie!
Another super interesting video. It is actually quite heartening to hear that you might only select 1 in a 100 of your photos for a painting subject as I have discovered with my own photos that very few of them inspire me towards the easel. It is also extremely interesting to see how you analyse the features of a photo - in design terms - to work out whether it will work as a painting. You're work is so inspiring & your explanations of what you're looking for in any image seem so logical once you have pointed them out. Thank you once again, Ian.
You teach so well--telling what you think and the process of correcting is so helpful!
This video really helped me see design elements in photos and explained how to simplify scenes. I am going out on a photo shoot now that I have more of an idea of what to look for! Thank you!
You are so welcome Patricia!
I, personally, really appreciate the simplicity of your words and explanations as well as your genuine personal simplicity. Always very didactic and unpretentious. Bravo. I know that you stopped making videos)which I understand), but I wanted to say bravo. Fred (Frenchman living in Australia)
I'm delighted you find the videos helpful. I'm still posting videos so make sure you're signed up on my email list so you get notifications. ianroberts.com
This is brilliant. To see u going through similar thoughts to myself about your own photos. I thought it was just me. Very reassuring!
Thanks! Each week is like a master class!
Glad you think so! Thanks Joanne
Your thumbnail technique is a winner. Thank you 😎
Always great, helpful videos. 👍
Yes, excellent instruction about the process. I live on the California coast and there seems to be exactly the same issues around composition that you addressed. Thank you for walking us through how to choose compositions that can work.
Glad it was helpful! I am in LA so I am happy you were able to connect to the images
Ian, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts; sharing thoughts and sharing time - which you do too - is the best to give and to get! Love, Charlotte
Absolutely. Thanks for watching Charlotte
I have so many city photos (mainly Madrid) which I want to do some paintings and more loose urban sketches. This video is just what I needed to help me know how best to go about selecting photos and cropping to get better composition for my reference. Thank you so much Ian Roberts.
Thanks great Mark. Glad it was helpful.
You make painting easy :) I appreciate the synthesis you make of a complex image. I'm learning a lot from your videos, especially how to observe and "read in between lines". Thank you! 🙏✨
It's fascinating to learn to see structure as you see it. Learning to see is what art is all about. Once you see, you can describe as you learn to manipulate the medium you're working with. Outstanding helpful video!
Thanks Ralph.
Wow, Thank you so much Ian,
I am a rookie in watercolor painting and yet have not come across a someone who makes philosophy into form and color with such vividness and clarity of thought and display. 🙏. I love it. You are my mentor💫
So happy you are finding the videos helpful. Thanks for letting me konw.
That's amazing. I was at your live session on Saturday, have watched the 20 minute video a number of times and have been absorbing your book for the past 3 or 4 weeks.
I was sat here browsing perhaps 2-300 photos, musing on the differences between a good photo and a good painting. I thought, if I could ask Ian a question, I'd ask about his process for evaluating photos - and it popped up here!
Thank you once again :)
That is wonderful Joanne. Glad this video was able to answer your question, with perfect timing! Thank you for the support. All the best
BRILLIANT! I loved this one Ian - very helpful to see your thinking process as you evaluate photos. It's hard to let go of subject matters you really get excited about but if there isn't a good foundation for a painting - well all that excitement just turns to frustration. Will watch this one again!
Hi Janet, you sort of hit the nail on the head with your comment. All that enthusiasm to start, just to get painting, and then finding out that...well, it isn't working. Glad you liked it.
Very educational, Ian Roberts. I learn as much about your preparation and thinking as in your painting. As a watercolor artist, these studies apply equally well. Your video supports my "Think-abouts" during plein air when I walkabout for 5-10 minutes after sketching, psyching myself in preparation for the next hour or so.
Yes, Edward, I like that idea of the walkabout, gearing up for the challenge ahead.
You know every time i see Mr. Ian's video i learn something new.
That is great. Thank you for watching
I really loved the photo at 6 minutes. So ethereal.
It will be fun to see you paint your selection next week!
Hi Lisa I can't remember what came at 6 minutes but it may be the painting for the following week, the one with the misted out shoreline behind the foreground.
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition yes I loved that one! Great I will look forward to seeing that! 😊
I am re-watching this in preparation of the 30-day challenge at the end of this year's course. I already know I will be traveling for one week and won't be able to draw on location everyday, so I need good photos to fall back on. The ratio of usable photos to photos taken is not unknown to me from my personal photographic experience, but it is still daunting. What I am learning in the course about editing is going to help.
Very interesting to see your process and how you break the photo into 6 areas. Thanks so much!
Glad it was helpful Laura.
Enjoy watching..nice sharing taking fhoto for painting
Thank you so much
I so appreciate you sharing your thought process that goes into picking an image to paint. Thank you!
You are so welcome!
Yes VERY HELPFUL. Thank you.
This is so fascinating.
I always find that when I feel a certain upwelling of joy from within taking a picture, then THAT's the one that gets to me emotionally, and chances are, I'll probably hang in there long enough to actually put it down on canvas. 😍
Thank you for all the videos you shared with audiences. They are very helpful to my painting skills. because you analyze the painting scene structure very clear and made great painting out of it. This video is exactly I need to watch and learn. Because I always wondering what photo I use for painting, and end up delete a lot of photos I took. I admit I need this kind of skill to identify good photos and paint some interesting paintings.
You are so welcome! Enjoy the process and I hope this video helps you in the future
Thank you Ian for all the hard work you potting in these videos. It's a lot of information and it's really helpful. It's very interesting to follow artist mind of how to compose a painting (that's why I prefer longer videos...). Referring back to your "4 Fundamental Principles" video, the problem for me is when looking at photo I get confused of what to leave out. for example - it would be hard for me to take out the boat because I'm sure it will be the one thing catching my eye first of all, probably more then the shed... so I'll feel I left out something significantly important to the place I'm painting. Or even stumble across the log lying in the foreground which I agree it's not very attractive but it will fool me as an element to draw your eyes into the painting... Landscape versus painting - what to leave out?
Hi Orly, so much of it is seeing the photo, or the scene if it's live, in terms of design, not subject. Your example of the boat is perfect. Of course you're in Maine, you have to have a fishing boat. There are a dozen narrative ideas, stories, subject driven that say keep the boat. But from a design stand point it's just a distraction. Really it's a sort of right brain (design) over left brain (subject) way of looking.
Absolutely GREAT, as always. Just watched the 20 minute video on composition. Also GREAT! Now, I am going to look at all my photographs!
Awesome, thank you! Have fun in the progress Joanie
So interesting to see the scenes you loved in Cambria. I was just there. I need to really study my photographs. Thank you again, Ian.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely helpful. Capturing that perfect image is a great process, and I love not limiting myself while I am taking the photographs so I too end up with several images to choose from. Then your sketch demonstration really helps to eliminate and narrow down which image to paint. Thank you.
You're very welcome!
Great video Ian. Look forward to painting next week
Have fun! Enjoy the process.
Thank you once again for those excellent insights. Living in flat farmland Michigan, most of my photos are not too interesting. I see the need to get out and explore more and look for those big shapes leading to my point of interest. Reviewing thousands of my old photos I see very few that inspire a painting. I am excited to go out again with your ideas in mind and try again.
Hi Toni, it does open up a whole new way of thinking. Good luck.
Very helpful analysis.
That was so interesting and I feel a lot better about my process now. Thank you
You are so welcome!
Ian, thank you for sharing your thoughts on selecting the right photos to paint. Cropping and simplifying images to paint also has been my problem. You’re such a good teacher. Thank you 🙏
Glad you enjoyed it Anna. Thank you
Tired of hearing “ WOw! You are SUCH a great teacher!” yet? 🤣🤣 hope not as I can’t stop thinking and saying it and sharing your name and books. I love how you took us through the steps you -the master- still make and sometimes decide meh that won’t work... even when you love the image.. I need to learn to let that love of the image go and move to one that will work and not plague me half way through...baby steps eh? Good to see the cozy sweater back. 🤣🤣. Oh, and where exactly did you go for these amazing views? I want to go for that walk along the cliff. Many thanks.
Hi Alison, well it makes me happy to hear you are enjoying the videos. It's a new cozy sweater. Exactly the same but new. We were in Cambria, up the CA coast from Santa Barbara. All the best.
Wonderful as always. Big thumbs up for your live presentation this past weekend. I had to watch it in recording bc it was on at midnight in the time zone I am in.
Thanks for listening to the recording James. It means a lot.
So helpful, thank you Ian! 💖
This video was very helpful I learned a lot from watching you explain your process. Can't wait to try this with some of my photos from a recent hiking trip.
Glad it was helpful Denise.
You and your wife are so lucky to have such beautiful scenery nearby. The cypresses on the hill with the ocean in the foreground looks like a spot Marcia Burtt plein air painted. Ii is obvious that you enjoy drawing and creating a map or plan. I am more of a what if sort of person and would have probably done some quick, plein air sketches in conjunction with the photos. I have lots of sketches that may become larger studio pieces but I am tempted to look at the photo instead of my plein air sketches/paintings which is not helpful to create looser, more abstract art in my case. Take good
care, in these still uncertain times! Appreciate what you do!
HI Susan, smaller quick plein air studies is much the same as my drawing practice. I just find I can go through more ideas more quickly and I'm less invested. And I know what you mean about painting from sketches and finding yourself gravitating back to the photo. I find pushing abstraction hard. I am just working on a video on exactly that now.
The way you describe your thinking about your compositions is so valuable thank you! I really struggle with making good decisions about what to paint and how to judge what will make a strong painting. I seem to be drawn to 'the best looking photo' and I'm not considering what it will be like to actually paint it. Not design driven at all!
That's the trick Susan. It's a shift in awareness really as you know from the subject to the design. It's why so many people say they look at the photo I am starting with and think huh and then they like the painting .I was seeing the design potential and they were seeing a pretty ordinary subject matter.
Thank you sir roberts,its wisdom to help other artist,alhamdulilla.GOD BLESS SIR
You are very welcome
Learned.. a lot.. right my taking photos.. then sketching..! Beautiful sir
Thank you so much!
So helpful- thank you!! Tuesday mornings are the best. Having your wonderful teaching videos right there in my inbox - so inspiring! Can’t wait to again go through my 10,000 photos in my phone and see about some paintings:)
Thank you Maryann. Enjoy the process and have fun
one of my reasons for taking up a pencil etc to draw/watercolour was to improve my photograph, to gain a deeper sense of composition and create my interesting photos. with looking at these posts I'm finding myself challenged and going both directions, painting to photo and photo to paint and back again, and as you say, it is joyful to do....
It's true Jim. Photos for photos sake are different than photos for reference for painting.
This was a really good episode. Thanks!
You are so welcome Margo
Very very helpful thank you very much Ian, your are a master at explaining useful concepts. Give us hope for better paintings. Thank you again for saturday! Also a very helpful process. Always a great plaisure to receive your tuesday video.
Have a nice week
You are very welcome. Thanks for coming to the live show and watching my weekly videos!
Thanks for the lesson Ian! It’s great to learn about your process and how to be more critical in choosing a photo for painting. Btw-I thoroughly enjoyed your live session last week. Lots to absorb and apply😊👍
Glad you enjoyed it - both videos!
Thanks much for tackling that subject Ian. Good to know my 1 good shot in a week of shooting is the norm! I too enjoy the process. Chasing the light…there’s worst things you could be doing.
Well said. I love being in nature, it's the best office around.
I like what you say about enjoying the process Ian; such a good point. Another helpful video. I enjoyed your live stream too but being in New Zealand, 5 a.m. was a bit early for me to watch it in real-time unfortunately . Thanks for your great work!
Glad you enjoyed it. The time difference makes it hard to match everyone's schedules, but I really appreciate you watching the recording
The good decisions of what to paint leaves you enough time to do these videos - and do a lot of other things rather than being stuck on something that won't work. Very helpful. As it turns out I have not watched the recording of the live video. I did watch the other video you posted last week- great! I was driving up the coast while you had your live youtube. It was a beautiful drive and I wished someone else was driving because I saw so many things I would have liked to have photographed. The vineyards and the rolling hills studded with oaks were gorgeous. However I now think about composition. A lot of those places along the 1010 were beautiful to gaze at but were mostly horizontal lines and might have been boring paintings. Then when I got to my destination in Santa Cruz I took some photos of the beach. Most also too horizontal. There might be one good one.
I have the same question as Miki- I wonder if you ever have an idea that you want to paint not from a photo or a single photo?
HI Ejf, I find that too. You drive along the highway and see the potential for something and photograph it and it doesn't look like anything.. I've found you have to stop (obviously not on a family road trip) and walk around and try and find out what it was that caught your attention and see if it adds up. Sometimes it doesn't. Almost always I paint from a single photo. If I were doing a large multi figure painting with tons of reference photos maybe. But a single landscape, pretty much from one photo.
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition I thought about it this morning. Sometimes those beautiful things I see may be best held in my mind. Not everything makes a good painting. I did stop at Fort Roberts to see if there was a view that had painting potential. I did not come up with anything this time. Thanks for satisfying my curiosity about whether you paint from several references sometime. On another subject- I listened to the podcast. The comments about your daughter practicing the piano inspired me to practice my drawing. Study a bit. Good for me to do. Have covid brain from watching too much tv!
I subscribe to your channel because I'm a photographer. So glad I do. Love your insights
Thanks Tony.
Your ratio of images to useful material for painting it is reassuring, I thought what I was able to pick out of what I shoot was very low, but now I know I am right in with the average. Great presentation as always and looking forward to how you will translate your photos into paintings.
Thank you Ralph. Delighted you found it helpful
Thank you so much for an amazing video. I learned so much!
You are so welcome!
Hey Ian, this information will definitely help me with problems I'm having with a scene I'm trying to capture. Thanks
Glad to help Lynn
Absolutely helpful! This also explains why I have such a hard time finding a spot when I want to go plein air-ing; I often find myself riding around on my bike for so long, the light has gone (lol). Thanks for a very educational vid.
HI Mike, I used to do the same, cursing myself for being lazy and not good. I'm easier on myself now. You know in my old age.
Thank you for the clarification. I too have so many pictures I have taken in Cambria, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, etc. and I love them as they stand however looking at them as paintings seems a bit overwhelming with all that is in the picture. I see now that all the details don't have to be included.
And you can crop them down too to just hone in on something tighter.
Great video and Saturday was nice as well. I found your channel a couple of weeks ago and have watched about half of the videos - they are all very helpful. You mentioned doing a WC video in future and I’m looking forward to it. I’m 62 and only started painting 11 yrs ago primarily in WC, so I’m thinking your insights regarding composition vs WC will be interesting.
Hi William, I am planning on doing a watercolor demonstration in the next few weeks. I hope you find that helpful since what you mainly see is oils. All the best.
Thank you Ian, good lesson, I will no longer feel guilty for taking lots of pictures and not liking most of them
Good news Ed. All the best.
Hi Ian ! Thank you for your time and sharing your photographs together with an explanation on choosing the right one for a painting. I too love taking numerous photographs ! When my husband and I went to Santorini and the Greek islands I took more than 600 photographs 😁 ! I am always blown away by the lights and shadows ! I am just getting to grips with landscape paintings as my usual style is similar to Aboriginal Art and I also do lino prints /woodcuts and stone sculptures. Photographs help me to find strong compositions of strong light and shade which create impact. I love your work because you paint such beautiful paintings with strong lights and darks ! As you know, I am always intrigued and eager to watch you draw a sketch in pencil ! Thank you ever so much and I look forward to more videos and hopefully another Live ! Wish you a great week... Lorraine
Thanks so much Lorraine. Wishing you a great week as well.
Thanks for this wonderful video. Would you please share or demonstration on topics of what should know about plein air and how to paint abstract subjects in the future. Thanks so much!
Hi Amanda, plan on doing videos on both those topics in the next few weeks. They are coming up. All the best.
Thanks, Ian! 👍
My pleasure!
Great lesson today, Ian! Thank you so much!
Glad you liked it!
This is really helpful - thank you! I'm a photographer and the photos that I love seldom turn into good paintings because I think I am not approaching the process properly. Also I think that since I started painting, it is changing the way I compose my photos. Where I once always looked for what drew me, now I'm considering the things you are talking about, like where are the points of interest and asking if I moved the camera position, might I get a picture that was more interesting because it is coming from a different viewpoint than most people get when they are standing. Now I need to do more of the sketches to make sure I'm not just being seduced by light and color.
HI Carol, that is an interesting point. I don't think my photographs are much good as photographs. Occasionally but I'm usually looking for something else. But I could see being caught between the two, good photo, good reference and taking them kind of not quite right for one, not quite right for the other.
Thank you Ian your video is very helpful!
You're very welcome!
Another brilliant lesson from you Ian . . . bless you!! I learnt so much :-)
Glad you enjoyed it
This was very helpful! Thank you!!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks again, Ian! I'm reviewing several of your videos as I'm going out plein air painting tomorrow. I must say again how beautiful your drawings are. I have a new goal to do mine in a 'keeper' sketchbook, not just slap a few thumbnails together! 🤣
Not just me then! I so often find the beautiful image I thought I'd taken doesn't translate at all - although like you I've already had fun taking the picture. This explanation i really helpful and I will look for the video you mention. Thank you!
Wonderful! I am delighted so many people are finding it helpful Catherine
I need this lesson
Thanks Ian...
My pleasure!
Thanks Ian! You were in my stomping grounds (Cayucos) so it was especially fun to see your choices. Very useful and good to know how few photos you keep. It seems to be the same for me. Thanks for your ongoing instruction and inspiration!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Beautiful !
Thank you!
Really a terrific video, thank you. It was very helpful to see more about your thought processes in choosing your landscapes. I wonder if you ever mix and match different elements from your photos. For example; You have a photo of an interesting tree in an unfortunate landscape, then later use the tree in a different landscape.
Glad you like the video G. A. I very seldom mix pieces of photos. Not for a single landscape. Perhaps for a more complex multi figure painting. But a landscape I tend to look for what is working within one image.
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition Thank you. Cheers!
yes you have a great skill for teaching and thank you for sharing that with us. I would have thought maybe you might select aspects of various pics to create single combination out of the 100s of shots. 😊 . I might keep a pic because I like a tree line or a boulder or colour of the sunset, that kind of thing.
Hi Kat, I hardly ever do that, combine parts of different photos. I think I am always trying to get my head around the whole idea of a picture and the idea of having a bunch of parts from several photos seems too disjointed for my way of working. In general anyway. Ii' sure there have been exceptions.
PS I'm reading your book Creative Authenticity and finding it life changing 😊. I read a few pages ea day to let them rumble around in my mind. I look forward to getting the next one, Mastering Composition.🎨
Thank you, Ian, for sharing your thoughts and process. Very, very useful. I guess the same principle applies to watercolour painting. I end up using one out of a very big number of photographs and very often I get stuck half way thru the exercise. I have to remember to draw a small sketch first and analyse. Thank you.
Even more with watercolor I'd say Marie. Because half way through can be too late if your lights are gone in a watercolor.
I feel like the right side of my brain is growing. Seriously, this is very, very helpful. My work is evolving.
Hi Robin, it is very true that engaging the right side of the brain means creating new neural pathways. You can "solve" or "hack" it. It is a slow push into a new way of thinking. Makes me happy to hear. All the best
Thanks you so much, Ian - it really was incredibly helpful and, Yes, there is great enjoyment in taking photos in the first place. Very helpful video - keep going (I hope). Thanks. Jane
Glad it was helpful!
Its really useful to see you go through the decision process with photos that dont work for you and understanding why. Also useful to know the hit rate as I find i need lots and lots to get an idea I like. Finally, i can see the concepts of mass and value working to make a good painting. If I may ask ( and its not too philosophical), what are the top line differences for you between structure, design and composition? What order do you think about them/how do they interact? Thank you as always. Best art tutorials on youtube. Thank you.
So that's a good question. I'd say composition is the umbrella term for the constructing a good painting. Perhaps the two most important elements of composition are design and structure. You've got value, color etc etc too. But structure and design work in conjunction. Sometimes the design will spark the idea, sometimes the structure but they are embedded within one another. Hope that makes sense.
Very helpful, thank you! I have found photos I've taken that I really love, and when I did the thumbnail/notan I found they didn't work, so this really resonated with me. Glad I'm not alone :-)
Wonderful! Have fun in the process and I hope this video helps
What kind of a dope would give a ‘thumbs down’ to such a great video 🤨? Thanks, again, sir for all your fabulous teaching!
Funny! Thanks for this. I am glad you enjoyed the video. All the best
Thank you. I really enjoy composition and found myself analyzing each photo you put up to see if it had salvageable content for a painting🤔. I found that with some adjusting there was one you rejected that had potential due to the lighting. If I have time I might try a quick practice sketch to see if it works. Loved the lesson!
Hi Judith, I had ticked as pretty good all the ones I showed. They weren't like complete rejects. But I just find two or three tend to stand out for me. And so I head there. But try that image in pencil and see what it offers.