jmfletch
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I really like photorealism especially in graphite. Many of them work from life rather than from photos as at that level the camera filtering and distortion can be seen. Think Jo mentioned she prefers drawing from life because she can see colors, light and shadows better. Looking at some of the photorealistic artists on the internet just blows my mind. Amazing.Copying photos is perhaps, in a sense, today's equivalent of doing Bargue plates - not without use, but I know what you mean. It doesn't feel creative. It's different, perhaps, when you use various photos to do a single scene, compositing in the various elements, combined with imagination etc. I don't have access to life drawing classes for figure drawing, so to learn figures I use reference photos, but it feels different because I never try to make perfect copies of the photos. One uses them to gather information, including 3D information.
Not that I want to knock photorealism. I admire it greatly (I find its fiercest critics are almost invariably people who cannot do it themselves, and then call it "mere copying" - but there is nothing "mere" about copying at that level!). But perhaps it requires a particular kind of eye and patience, that I lack. Nowadays when I look at reference photos, I feel a kind of exhaustion.
One thing about working from life in traditional, physical media: it's completely AI-proof.
Checkout Diego Fabio also known as Diegokoi. Inspiring what you can do with that HB pencil.
If you like color check out. Marcelo Barenghi’s color pencil and nixed mediaart.
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