Hi everyone,
Recently I stayed in a B&B in France one night on my way to see my dad. The B&B’s garden was magnificent, all under the care and hard work of the owner Bernard. The style was more English than French, not too regimented and with areas left almost entirely wild. The accomplishment was even greater because the soil was just sand: whenever Bernard plants something, he has to make a hole in the sand and replace it with good soil.
Apart from discovering a new Hydrangea (Hydrangea ‘Light-O-Day’), which is always a treat for me, I also fell in love with the waterlilies on the pond. I decided to paint them for my summer Patreon project, but I didn’t have my paints with me and of course I couldn’t just take a flower with me so I now have to paint these waterlilies from the photos I took. I avoid working from photos, for many reasons… So I thought it would be a good idea to use the issues that I would have to face and make this part of the project.
I also decided to share this on YouTube and my blog, to help more people with this common problem. On Patreon I turned this into a challenge. I regularly give challenges to my Patreon subscribers. This is how they work: I make a post where I describe the challenge, give a task and make a list of questions to ponder, so that instead of just explaining something I offer some points to think about and try to resolve. I let everyone think for a couple of weeks so they have enough time to go through the exercise, and then I film myself going through the challenge and answering the questions. For the ‘Working from photos challenge”, I made a video describing 10 difficulties that come with working from photos and suggested some things to ponder that might help give answers on how to overcome the problems. Two weeks later, I made another video in which I answered these questions from my point of view and gave tips to answer each of the 10 issues and get around them.
I also made a YouTube version of the first video in the challenge, describing the 10 things you really need to know when working from photos. The second video in which I go through the challenge myself to find some answers and tips is only on Patreon, but the first video should still be helpful: if you know what the problems are, you can find strategies and overcome more easily than if you are not aware of them.
Here is a link to the video:
I hope this helps,
Happy Painting,
Sandrine
Sandrine Maugy 