Summer Assignment

Retinal Painting
Despite its directness retinal painting from observation is more difficult than one might think.
One must surrender to sensation, which at first may feel out of control. Most people find it hard to
overcome visual habit; they tend to ignore what they see in favor of what they know. As an
introduction to retinal painting it can be helpful to make a few practice studies from photographs.
Task 1 photographs
Take great photographs. Take 5-10 photographs with great lighting, composition and exposure.
Chose 1 of your photographs and make a painting from it.
When working from photos, take care to paint only with patches
of colour corresponding to those you see in the image, regardless
of the subject. Notice how there are no contour lines in a
photograph. Painting in this way is somewhat easier than working
directly from life because the photo translates three-dimensional
forms into flat colours and shapes.
An important rule of thumb in retinal painting is to paint only what
you see, but not everything you see. The goal is to probe the
subject for colours and shapes and to transcribe them as
accurately as possible. Rough in the largest shapes until you have
covered the whole picture plane. Then decide on a secondary level of visual detail and paint those
smaller shapes within the larger ones. Finally, work down to the smallest shapes you care to
record. A rendering of even a few major colour shapes, if faithful to observation, will have the
authority of simple truth.
Task 2 painting
Paint a series of 3-4 retinal studies in opaque paint (acrylic, oil or gouache).
Each painting should be approximately A5 in size (15 x 21 cms). Paint from life. Use a viewfinder
of the same proportions to help you frame your painting. The viewfinder will frame the scene and
reveal shapes in the visual field not only in relationship with each other but also in relation to the
boundary of the rectangle. Paint the large major shapes first. Cover the entire picture plane
before beginning to add any details. Try to render colours precisely as you see them.