Working from sketches as opposed to photos.

[Richard Bingham]

Originally Posted by Michele Rushworth

. . . it's easier to work from life . . . You never have to "make something up". . . .

I can't disagree with that, Michele, but with all due respect for the value of working from the life in all cases, it wouldn't be amiss to note practically none of the great master paintings we study and revere were painted that way. Not the Sistine ceiling, not Rubens' epics, not Tiepolo's monuments, nor Titian's grand works . . . it would be far easier to point to the few instances in which the masters worked directly from the life. Not even Vermeer's small jewels were painted directly from the life situations they portray.

Even John F. Carlson cautioned against painting "true to life" landscapes, as "life" so rarely presents ideal situations of composition, scale and color to a single view. Higher art is born of judicious "editing" on the part of the artist.