Composing A Sports Action Painting

COMPOSING A SPORTS ACTION PAINTING

Step 1:

When composing a sports action painting, I usually work from a number of photos of the same action from different angles and under different lighting conditions. Very seldom, is just one photo perfect enough to be the sole model for the painting. I usually combine my favorite elements from different photos to create the effect that I'm looking for - the expression on the athlete's face from one photo, the muscle action from another, the lighting from a third. My planning stage often takes as long as completing the entire painting. Photoshop sometimes comes in very handy for this process where I can combine photographic elements easily to see if I like the effect. When I am satisfied with this preliminary layout, I go on to the next phase.