Roger Gill

Using the photograph as a reference for making a painting has been a practice utilised since the beginning of photography, and before that with the camera obscura and lenses. Now, the world seen through the photograph, and the way we relate to it, is a subject for the modern painter.

The translation of the photograph to canvas, or support, has a multitude of approaches and on this course we will develop oil or acrylic paintings that include the photograph, its image or essence, in some way shape or form. We will look at a cross section of these approaches, such as the use and application
of paint to simulate the photograph, scaling up, the use of light, simplification of form, transferring to canvas or support, collage and projection.

Throughout the course we will experiment and invent, and also look at how modern painters translate their inspirations, ideas, and techniques through the photograph. You will learn how to apply these, together with your own experimentation and ideas, to make individual paintings.

Roger Gill is an artist and freelance tutor who works in London and who has exhibited in the UK and Europe. See www.rogergill.org.