Fine Art Paintography

Hand-Painted Fine Art Photography

by fine art landscape photographer Dan Carmichael

 

What is Fine art paintography?

Because paintography is so new, and so few people are creating it, it's not even a word in the dictionary yet. Paintography is a very unique style of art that combines digital painting and photography. A photograph (digital image) is opened in a computer graphic editing program such as Photoshop, and various plugins or filters are used to modify the image with special effects. A plugin or filter is a small computer application that can be added to Photoshop to perform special functions.

Why do I create paintography with my fine art photographs?

First and foremost, because it allows me to create exceptionally beautiful artwork in a unique and special style. Among the vast numbers of fine art photographers out there, very few do paintography. Then, among the few who do it, a large percentage of those use automatic filters and plugins to accomplish the task. I do not. More about that later. The important point is that fine art paintography allows me to set my art apart from the crowd. It allows me to create artwork in a style that is truly unique only to me and worthy of collecting. Artwork that will increase in value.

Why is my fine art paintography different?

As mentioned, the majority of fine art paintographers use the plugins or filters in automatic mode. This means that the photographer opens an image in photoshop, selects the plugin they wish to use, presses a button to start the plugin running, then waits a period of time for the plugin to finish. For example, there are plugins that will convert a photograph into an "oil painting" complete with brush stokes. The automatic plugin simply creates brush strokes on the image automatically. This is not true paintography. By allowing the computer to create the style for you, you are giving all control of creativity to the computer. It is no longer your art. It becomes the computer's art.

I never do that. I spend what is often hours upon hours creating my fine art paintography. In the process I may utilize numerous layers of images, image masks, different types of brushes, and various brush sizes and painstakingly create the art with what may be thousands of hand brush strokes. The reason I do it myself is simple: when done automatically, the computer does not do a good job.

For example, let's use the aforementioned oil painting plugin. The photograph image that is being "oil painted" may have areas of directional lines or textures in it. But the computer does not know that. It just sees the image as a whole and puts brush strokes on it. Because of that, the computer may end up placing vertical brush strokes on top of an area of horizontal lines. A human painter, of course, would never hand-paint horizontal lines using vertical brush strokes. The computer's resulting image is bad, containing ugly areas of contradictory lines, textures, and brush strokes.

Why, then, would so many use the automatic feature if the results can be bad? Because it takes time and effort to do it otherwise. To create exceptional art, one must have exceptional dedication and make an exceptional effort. Not everybody is willing to take the time and effort to create an exceptional product. Anybody can open a picture in Photoshop and press a button. But I have developed my own paintography methods. And I put the time and effort into them. The end result is a unique image - a unique style.

The secret to exceptional paintography

The secret to exceptional paintography is not a secret at all. The key to exceptional paintography is not the paintography - it's the image.

The image the art is built upon must be a strong image. If you begin with an average image - or even a good image - you'll end up with nothing greater than a good piece of art. To create a beautiful work, you must start with a beautiful image. And even beyond that, not every picture is a good candidate for paintography. It takes an experienced eye to know what type of image works best and then to create that image. That is why it takes exceptional dedication to create a quality work. It takes the right image, a good image, and a good amount of work.

The beauty of the paintography process is that the artist has complete control over the art that is created. Assuming, of course, the artist does more than press a button on the computer. That is why in the gallery you will see paintography that ranges from traditional to abstract.

Among the few creative artists who do hand-brushed paintography, my techniques and creations stand alone because I do not limit the paintography I create to emulating an oil painting effect. I have created and utilize a variety of creative paintography effects to achieve the results I want. That's why my style is unique and within that, each image is unique. The work may be purchased on paper or canvas.

Visit this website and the gallery often. I release new fine art paintography, as well as traditional fine art photography, on a regular basis.