PHOTO vs PAINTING | How They're Different and Why It Matters to Artists

James Gurney paints Trinity Church in Newport, Rhode Island, and considers how the human eye interprets reality differently than the camera. He uses casein paint on panel on a customized pochade easel.
CASEIN AND OTHER MATERIALS
Titanium white: tinyurl.com/4n24p7vb
Cadmium yellow light: tinyurl.com/yc2rax4e
Cadmium orange: tinyurl.com/ys77jj6e
Cadmium red scarlet: tinyurl.com/mr2dw4cz
Rose red: tinyurl.com/mth72639
Ivory black: tinyurl.com/ya4k5b7p
Casein emulsion: bit.ly/3RoP4gz
Casein basic set of 6 colors: bit.ly/3EF4o11
Casein underpainting set of 6: bit.ly/3PDNcQ0
Winsor and Newton gloss varnish: tinyurl.com/2jd4fv8m
Travel brush set: bit.ly/46fkdXY
Water cup: amzn.to/2soTw2L
Plein-air tripod: tinyurl.com/mryzzfx7
VIDEO TUTORIALS:
“Casein Painting in the Wild” (Download on Gumroad): gumroad.com/l/casein
“How to Make a Sketch Easel” gurneyjourney.gumroad.com/l/sketcheasel
BOOKS:
COLOR AND LIGHT: jamesgurney.com/products/color-and-light-a-guide-for-the-realist-painter-signed-by-james-gurney
IMAGINATIVE REALISM: jamesgurney.com/products/imaginative-realism-how-to-paint-what-doesnt-exist
DINOTOPIA: jamesgurney.com/products/dinotopia-a-land-apart-from-time-signed
REALISMO IMAGINATIVO: bit.ly/3ZnkKVW
OTHER OFFICIAL SITES
James Gurney's Gumroad channel: gumroad.com/gurneyjourney
Instagram: jamesgurneyart
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/GurneyJourney/
GurneyJourney Blog: gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/
JamesGurney Website: jamesgurney.com/site/shop
Facebook group "Sketch Easel Builders": groups/403006076777641/?source_id=121255121263267

[@schpooopy]

"The painting will seem complete not because you included a lot of photographic detail but because you allowed the viewer to be involved with the process of evoking the scene." I'll try to keep this in mind always. Thank you for showing us your beautiful work and your sharing your infinite wisdom!

[@granmabern5283]

Thankyou for quoting this. It reminds me of the philosophy behind Haïku 😊

[@nyreeandstephenbevan5120]

All the people you see and color, all the sounds and memories, the vibrance and life, the history, all of it is so easy to miss if you just snap a quick photo. But if you're there for 1-3 hours there is so much more. My son laughs at me because I will paint the same places and portraits multiple times as I learn more about them. Sometimes I have to use photo references-- but oh how much more I learn while there or talking to the subject as I paint their portrait.

[@liamivarsson]

As a photographer I totally agree and aee your point. But then again, working around a scene and discovering the light, angles, colors etc. can take as long as the photographer would like. This is something that I have to think about sometimes though, as it is like you said; easy to miss if you snap a quick photo

[@R_H21]

Thx James! Lots of good info. Also, while watching I was wondering if you'll have another duo painting video with Mrs. Gurney. I saw her but she wasn't painting.

[@Blick_Art]

We recommend that everyone watch this video a couple of times- it's very information-dense, and this might be some of the most important advice you can get as a painter! A painting does record information, but more than that, it records the artist's interpretation of that information. What comes out on canvas, though it may have less raw information than a photograph, can somehow communicate more about the true appearance of what was seen!

[@IlyaYakubovich]

Watching this as a photographer is very informative and useful. It should be noted that a lot of what you're describing as properties unique to painting are actually applicable to photography. When shooting RAW with a modern camera, there is quite a lot of shadow detail that the camera captures but is not visible in the JPG it spits out. When editing the photo in software like lightroom, a photographer can brighten those shadows to get an effect very similar to the painting. Overblown highlights are more difficult to recover, which is why with modern cameras it's better to slightly underexpose to stay on the safe side. In terms of color, a subtle Split Toning can make your shadows and highlights more colorful like in the painting. For detail, I sometimes like to create a version of the photograph that puts more emphasis on details (more local contrast, structure, clarity, sharpness) and mask it so that it peeks through only in the areas that I want emphasize. In this case, it would be the tree, lamps, architectural details at the top of the church. Check out the photography of Oreste Mercado and Francesco Aglieri Rinella for examples of this approach.

[@JamesGurney]

Thank you for these interesting and practical insights about how to achieve this with a camera.

[@Chill1332]

Beautiful painting. I love how vibrant the colors are. It amazes me how much detail APPEARS to be in you paintings compared with how much detail is actually there. You are so good at suggesting complicated things. And I like that you added the couple walking there on the path. I always like watching you paint. And HEY I see friends behind you! 😊

[@starberriez9218]

Agreed! His work is always amazing, and it was so nice to see the friends too!

[@northernembersoutdoors1045]

Great, a 14 minute long vid. I watch your videos over and over to try learn, you make it look easy but as I have learned its very hard. My introduction to gouache was this channel and I love it. One of the greatest contemporary artists for me, thank you

[@amiemarieart]

He really does make it look easy!

[@amyadams2253]

This was a great reminder that working from life provides different information than working from a photograph. I primarily work from photographs(and imagination) to create more complicate drawings and paintings, but working from life provides a completely different quality! I'll have to keep this in mind for studies

[@virginiatimmons4927]

Wishing you health and happy painting ❤ thank you so much for all your teaching - your books and videos really pushed my art to grow, I’m so thankful to have an “Art Dad” like you.

[@TracieWho]

Thank you! I find your painting so much more beautiful than the photograph.

[@josephinastover5785]

Fantastic video; so many helpful tips! It was great seeing your set up as well. I am inspired to try casein now! Thank you!

[@JamesGurney]

Wow, I'm grateful for your support, and I'll invest it in future content.

[@davidhurwitz4130]

I've got a love/hate relationship with using photos for painting references so seeing this video made things a bit clearer for me. I think the purest form of painting is when you're standing in front of your subject, interpreting the scene through your own eyes, not second hand through the cameras lens. If however you choose to use photos, it's good to know the traits of each so you can make good decisions. Love watching these videos!

[@FreedomOfSport]

I just adjust the RAW photos to what I remember it looked like when I was there. So my photo's pretty much look like the real life thing.

[@chrisgriffith1573]

Thank you for showing your easel setup, pretty cool outfit!

[@DannySabraArt]

This is one of my favorite videos of yours. I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of photography and plein air painting as references for studio work and you helped me understand much better how each has a strength and limitation. Also it’s kizmet because I’ve been noticing how my skies are often too dark tonally! I’m going to try it today and really make it bright! Lovely painting and video. Thank you!

[@hayleymolesworth4010]

Hi James 👋 great to see you and your work. I want to wish you health, well-being, love and light into your life. You bring so much of yourself and your expertise to all us artists around the world, and I want to thank you so, so much. You are very special to us all ❤

[@colleenmcchesney1482]

Your explanation of the difference between the painting & photo makes it easier for me to simplify my future reference photos for my future paintings. This is definitely a gorgeous painting. I also love that new setup for the easel on the tripod. Thanks so much for sharing this with us. I really appreciate it & am learning so much from your perspective & work. 🥰

[@blackjohnny0]

Painting has much more atmosphere. :)

[@redhula9815]

So easygoing, real and engaging. Great intro, and the painting itself is wonderful. Right down to the glorious random interruptions that make plein air such an event. I felt like I was there with you. Thank you!

[@JamesGurney]

Thanks for the feedback. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@seanodaniels397]

My father taught me this when I was kid. Changed the way I looked at things for the rest of my life.

[@lesliev7874]

Lovely painting. Thank you for the lesson on a camera lens versus the human eye.

[@conscience-commenter]

Thank you for showing how the artist's minds eye puts perspective and paint to canvas and creates beauty .

[@LightBoxExpo]

Such a wonderful explanation of your thought process, materials and procedure. Thank you

[@anshuman_kashyap]

Out of all the things I saw today, watching this made me the most happiest! Thanks James!

[@welingkartr416]

Thank you. I have always wanted to watch painters at work and understand what goes on in their mind as they paint. Your video does all that and provides us so much more when you paint that beautiful painting. Thanks again for being that guide.

[@trisht5064]

very great information lesson showing side by side really hits home the difference !! thank you

[@Ledareen]

Thank you for sharing your vision and minds! Your art and kindness is a big inspiration!

[@Shuvah2Him]

James!!! First you show me a new easel ... then you expect me to pay attention to the painting????? hahahaha. had to go back and rewatch to get it all :)

[@shefru60]

I am in awe. You are a masterful artist and instructor.

[@safegourd]

Such a beautiful painting!! You are a lifesaver for beginner plein air painters like myself. Thank you for describing your set up and process!

[@goawaygosh]

James Gurney is just absolutely amazing. I love listening to him speak and getting to hear all of the knowledge and insight he shares.

[@thuggy1]

When in go out painting i always take a photo before and afterwards. If you compare the painting and the photos you might think it is a completely different scenery. Through painting i realkt learn to see the world..what a joy!

[@deborahgoodwin3426]

Absolutely gorgeous visual interpretation alongside the photo. Isn't it wonderful that we are able to use such glorious colorful pigments on simple surfaces to then allow the viewer to interact with and evoke their own beautiful interpretation. Magic, pure magic of color and light!! ❤️🙏👩‍🦳🖌️

[@fakerrain]

Always a joy to watch a video from you. Thanks again for all the info you provide.

[@aesea57804]

Lovely painting demo using casein. The last 1-2 minutes addresses what the title said was the whole topic. I really hoped he would talk more about it.

[@kimallen8521]

Absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much for explaining the difference between a photo and what the eye sees, I always prefer to paint en plein air purely because you see so much more than the camera.

[@Amanda.Jayne.]

I appreciate all of the time you’ve put into your videos, you’re a wonderful teacher and a great inspiration! 😊

[@Mauro_Veliz]

Amazing video, as usual. Love the creativity you add to everything you do! Thank you!

[@jekalambert9412]

I love watching you paint because you are so masterful at suggesting what you see and making it look completely real.

[@KathyLeeParker]

I truly wish I was in Newport to see you paint, as I live locally. It would have been a real treat. A wonderful video, as always. Saving this one to watch again.

[@christianek_h]

Thanks for another great video James! Always inspiring to see you at work!

[@amiemarieart]

Another brilliant video James, absolutely love this piece ❤

[@gejalakshmiDraws]

I love all your videos. I was able to understand and improve a lot just by watching you paint. Thank you so much for making these wonderful videos.

[@benhillman8384]

A true North star as ever. Lovely video.

[@xthefriendsx]

It seems so easy when we see you painting. You have a great talent sir and I love the way you try to explain it to us. Thank you !

[@loiseilers5058]

You are an amazing artist! I love your work and learn so much from your videos.

[@TaniaRouserArt]

James, you’re what makes it magical! Thank you for sharing your talent and expertise ❤

[@lisajensen1843]

Another great video. Even when I can only paint from a photo I make the darks lighter and with more color. I sent some paintings in for critique once and the instructor asked for a photo to be sent along with each painting. He found fault with how much lighter some of my paintings were compared to the photo. I had taken the photo so I knew it wasn’t true to the scene. I had kept the values accurate overall. From then on I don’t send comparison photos.. it’s not about the photo. You are so good at teaching and relating information. Love the easel 👩‍🎨

[@faithisrising]

Thank you for sharing your techniques and insights! Beautiful painting!

[@annihull6373]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I appreciate your art and I appreciate your thoughts about art. Thank you for feeding my brain cells and artist heart today. Blessings

[@nharvey0076]

Wishing you the best of health James. I’ve loved watching your videos for years. I particularly like how you create tools to help you execute your craft. Really shows how you think through all the details. Hope you’re doing well and would love to continue learning from you for a long time. 🙏🏾

[@lecolintube]

Thank you so much for all you share, I love hearing your perspective, thoughts and of course your mastery and depth of knowledge on everything from painting light, understanding mediums, art history and theory all the way to making and setting up your easels. So very appreciated. …the way you explained and set the easel up got me thinking, there’s a wonderful story in here too. Thank you again

[@BogOfEternalStench]

Great video🙏 Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and process, it’s invaluable to artists in learning

[@victor1804]

Amazing as always!! Thanks for all your work!

[@alienjjj]

amazing content as always, one of my very fav channels!

[@zuelfish1459]

Lovely work, I always thoroughly enjoy watching your videos, as an art teacher myself I love to pick up greater insights, Thankyou for sharing yet again

[@milkknrice]

I cant express how happy I am watching your videos! Thank you for sharing your art! :)

[@paulaelliott47]

Superb! Can't get any better, the art, the instruction, the sensitivity.

[@KathleenRenninger]

Thank you for using your considerable teaching talents to benefit us. Lovely rendition. Great point about how the viewer's brain will fill-in the details. As someone who gets hung up on trying to capture "every brick", this will be helpful for me to remember.

[@margaretcroft]

Definitely magical - thanks for sharing this good information and beauty with us all!

[@Lauragld]

Thanks so much James for such a beautiful demonstration. Love seeing that you can use casein as a wash over or under other colors without any reactivation. Getting very curious to try it. Beautiful painting...beautiful light....thank you James :)

[@Saucissex2]

Fantastic video as usual. This is a goldmine of information from a very wise man. I will try and implement this when I try to paint landscapes and struggle to make them look too detailed or realistic! Thank you very much.

[@emilienmoussie809]

Thanks you so much for sharing your immense knowledge. Greetings from France ! Your explanations were very clear and it helps understand why my paintings are always very different from what I thought when comparing with photos of a scene.

[@chiu-on-this]

Gorgeous as always

[@lamialenoire]

Thanks for the video Mr. G, hope you're doing well!

[@GrandmaMuggy]

Thank you for another great video. So informative! I learn so much. Thanks for sharing your talent and knowledge.

[@carolynfuller6237]

Very informative and insightful. Most people don't realize how much less the camera sees than the human eye and how much more one can capture in a painting.

[@catherinecervas3726]

Thank you for this topic James. Lovely painting. Kind regards

[@MrHangman56]

That painting is amazing, and i love how simple the detail is but looks so good

[@maxdyllonrodrigues]

Thanks for your content Mr. Gurney, I love your art!

[@michaeljohnangel6359]

Great work as always, maestro!! Bravo James!

[@cockatielnation5425]

Excellent video! Thanks for the info and the inspiration.

[@gardengirl6636]

Beautiful work! Thank you 🎨

[@yusufal-kafir1539]

That painting was one delicious tertiary colour after another. Congratulations on being on the cusp of *a half of a miillion* subscribers! ...

[@samnaps1]

You should do a series painting with cheaper watercolors, to see how your methods change with different materials.

[@ethan-loves]

thank you for teaching us, James!

[@el-artista-marginado]

i love how humble you seem ...a virtual hug from seville my friend

[@studiosandi]

You are wonderful❤ thank you for sharing. What a beautiful painting.

[@amats3]

Excellent as usual! I hope you are well. Equally amazing is how you pull it off with all of the distractions happening around you 😂. It will be some time before I master that.

[@garydrawsandpaints7745]

Great video at this moment James. I’m finishing up some painting from our art trip to Morocco. Using photos for reference and I am always worried about the reliance on the photo overwhelming the plein air first pass! Say hello to Jeanette!

[@playalot86]

You know what else is magical? ... ... James Gurney, hahaha, but seriously, I always remember what you said in Color And Light. "Viewers will understand the subject matter, but feel the color and light." MY MAN, put those words on my tombstone...

[@alexrechkin7]

Fantasy and sci-fi painting are even better because you're painting something fantastical that don't exist and show your imagination. Please, James Gurney, make something imaginative, you're so good at that.

[@artscience9981]

Truly great explanation of the strengths of photography and painting from life. Very helpful. The genius of James’ approach is that he is often working backwards or upside down from the way most people approach a painting issue. Me: Paint a whole tree with light green first, then try to add the darks. James: Paint all the darks first (which is usually the majority of the tree), then glaze the light greens on the tops and edges of the dark shapes. so much better!

[@quicktastic]

Interesting and beautiful as always. Thank you.

[@julienielsen3746]

My brother's friend who is a photographer looked down on realistic paintings, saying you might as well take a photograph. He himself he said did only abstract paintings. I never got to see any of his work. My brother said he later went blind. Sad. I myself love realistic paintings. Your's are wonderful. I like the people added to a painting. It really adds life to it.

[@granmabern5283]

Some photographers are true artists, though. They put a lot of thought, equipment and technique into their photos...😊

[@julienielsen3746]

@@granmabern5283 I'm not saying that there aren't photographers who are true artists. Just made me mad that he looked down on realistic paintings. Jealous maybe. Maybe he wasn't good at doing realistic paintings and instead did abstract paintings. He said it as he was looking at a painting I did of my brother's Springer Spaniel. My brother now takes some beautiful photos of his Borzoi's ( Russian Wolfhounds). Using good equipment. Nice action shots.

[@canobenitez]

as a painter, I have mixed feelings towards photo realistic paintings ( which I guess you are referring to). I don't think spending thousands of hours on a thing (painting, chair, etc) makes it more valuable per se. Being active doesn't mean being productive. I consider realistic paintings works made by Velasquez, Caravaggio and so forth ( which arguably are the pinnacle of painting, but that's my opinion). I suggest you to use 2 definitions like I just did.

[@julienielsen3746]

@@canobenitez No, not photo realistic. I don't care too much for those myself. I like paintings that are realistic but, you can tell they are a painting. Right now I've been watch videos of Chuck Black doing wildlife paintings. Realistic but, he does wonderful animals in landscapes. I also like James Gurney's videos on painting. Tim Horn does some good paintings. My favorite artist is John Singer Sargent. I like his brushwork. I work in acrylics myself.

[@pashaveres4629]

Love the work and really appreciate the lesson in how we see, how to make decisions. Painting overwhelms me because there's way too much information and no way to sort it out.

[@marywebb1138]

Thank you. This was very enjoyable and informative 😊

[@iramardesouza4663]

Adoro seu trabalho!!!

[@eliseintheattic9697]

Well crap. Now I'm mad. I never even knew a tripod easel was a thing, and I let a very well-built tripod that belonged to my Dad be sold at an estate auction just a few months ago. 😡 Love the painting by the way. You did a beautiful job of capturing the light and color.

[@wordreet]

What a great little painting! You've just made me realise that I never did what I wanted to do. I enjoyed art classes more than anything else at school. But I considered I had no skills and just did it for fun. I still have no idea as to whether I was good or not as the bullies said it was for wimps. I like photography and have fun with that once in a while. Maybe when I retire . . .

[@pian-0g445]

This is a nice gentle reminder from you that painting and photography aren’t better than one another, but are simply just 2 different mediums. But what’s nice though is that they still share some skills. Such as composition. Many differences, but still some similarities.

[@peterfiser]

Fantastic, thank you James.

[@chompers11]

You really nailed that intro, got me super interested

[@dawn4681]

Excellent❤ thank you Mr. Gurney

Une excellente démonstration de votre Talent.

[@samlarsen2430]

I’ve been looking for exactly this, including the shirt you have on

[@PeopleMakePictures]

I think the difference is the camera takes the whole scene as an average contrast and colour balance. Where as the human eye focuses on spot point areas and sees each area for what it is. Thereby getting a better colour/contrast balance across each area of the scene it sees. The human eye never takes an average. Only the focal point it sees. So is able to see "better".

[@georgeanderson7499]

Churches always make great subjects for painting. I did one of a small rural community church last year.

[@jamesmcinnis208]

Trinity Church did a paint analysis years ago and found that it was originally a vanilla ice-cream color, and so they reproduced that color (to the best of their ability) when choosing the "white" for the building. Sitting at the top of a small hill, it looks magnificent against the blue sky. The ivory color doesn't glare in full sun the way pure white would.

[@c.augustin]

While you could get the color information in a photograph by using HDR, I find the idea of re-evaluating details and colors when painting very interesting! I'm doing large format pinhole photography (lacks detail ;-)) and started to colorize B&W shots (digitally, but this has some painting-like properties), so I find this video quite helpful - I do use smartphone color shots for a better understanding of the colors in the original scene (as references and to pick them), but started to digress from them. I'll watch some more of your videos, there's valuable insight for what I do.

[@rosebrauen7120]

Wow!I love your style!

[@lesterhall-displaybiz9595]

Thank you James