Don't Be a Slave to Your Reference
featuring Matt Smith
This topic came about when Gabor and Matt were discussing common problems they see in Matt’s online mentoring course “Simplifying the Landscape.” One of the things Matt found is that he will ask one of his students to identify the focal point or the main idea behind the painting, they sometimes can. But, once they say what they think it is, Matt has come to learn that they are usually a slave to their reference. Whether they are painting from the field or photo reference. Matt is trying to convince students like you to be aware that it’s YOUR idea. You are not directed by the subject or reference. You are creating a painting based on your thoughts and your emotional experiences to the subjects you paint.
It then becomes up to you to take what’s presented to you and organize or re-arrange it in a way that best supports your idea. Matt has found that when people finally realize this, it’s liberating. They get really excited and begin to paint with confidence while approaching the process with confidence. That is when, Matt believes, the art really starts to come out. He once watched a demonstration by an artist who talked about how he measures everything out in the landscape (the height of a tree vs. the width vs. the placement between trees). Matt realized that by doing this, the artist is pretty much dealing with only what is in front of him. Matt though, what if those trees look better if there is a variation between height and width and space? All you have to do is identify the direction of the light and the value and color of the trees, then re-arrange them accordingly (this is design).
“You are not directed by the subject or reference. You are creating a painting based on your thoughts and your emotional experiences to the subjects you paint”
But, once this idea of not being a slave to your reference finally registers, it is usually a very exciting idea. It certainly was exciting for Matt when he finally moved away from documenting what was in front of him, to celebrating what was in front of him. That is where the art truly comes out. It can be a similar experience that a writer encounters. The more knowledge they have of language, the more they can substitute a word for another word to simplify or enhance it. The concept is very similar to painting. The greater hold you have on craft, the better you will be at expressing your idea. You have to realize that your idea is yours and it is unique to you. So, do what you have to do to support it. This means changing, exaggerating, playing areas down, whatever it takes to make that unique idea come to life in your painting.
Matt Smith is a master artist and a passionate mentor to his online students. Join Matt in his next open enrollment. Add yourself to the waitlist below! Spaces are limited:
Don’t forget about Matt Smith’s instructional videos and FREE webinar!
Listen to Matt and Gabor on the Paint & Clay Podcast here.