What’s the Point of Painting Directly From Life?

What’s the Point of Painting Directly From Life?
“Chickadee in Buckthorn,” by Russell Gordon. Oil on linen; 8 inches by 10 inches. Courtesy of Collins Galleries
Lorraine Ferrier
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In William R. Davis’s landscape painting, “Late Day Colors,” the last light of the late sun illuminates the sky and sends a shimmer of light onto a lake: It’s the sun’s final hurrah before disappearing behind a distant forest. In another painting, “Bouquet,” by Daniel Caro, a glorious bunch of sunflowers and yellow roses cheerfully announces itself in a white ceramic vase. Then there’s a sensitively rendered self-portrait by Kristen Valle Yann in a white headscarf; she gazes off the edge of the painting, deep in thought. All three paintings are different from each other, yet they have two things in common: Each is painted directly from life rather than from a photograph, and all are featured in the same exhibition, “The 10th Annual Holiday Small Works Exhibition” at the Collins Galleries, Orleans, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

“Late Day Colors,” by William R. Davis. Oil on panel; 8 inches by 12 inches. (Courtesy of Collins Galleries)
“Late Day Colors,” by William R. Davis. Oil on panel; 8 inches by 12 inches. Courtesy of Collins Galleries
Lorraine Ferrier
Lorraine Ferrier
Author
Lorraine Ferrier writes about fine arts and craftsmanship for The Epoch Times. She focuses on artists and artisans, primarily in North America and Europe, who imbue their works with beauty and traditional values. She's especially interested in giving a voice to the rare and lesser-known arts and crafts, in the hope that we can preserve our traditional art heritage. She lives and writes in a London suburb, in England.
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