In a previous post, Terry asked if I could show the photographs and how they were cropped to use as reference to work out the composition for the paintings shown below.
We're ignoring the photograph on the top right. I'm sorry these aren't in order, but I think you can see which photo is cropped for which sketch.
These were all pictures that I had taken. They all mean something to me, even if it is just the fact that I poked around a bit, getting pictures because I like the subjects, and had either spent some time there, or passed these spots on a regular basis - a little bit of an emotional investment.
If you click on these images, you can see them larger.
I just picked out what I liked about each image - what it was that made me take the photos in the first place. I could have cropped and composed when I took the pics, but then I would have lost the extra details that I felt contributed to the whole thing. The details are not necessarily things I would need to include in a painting, but they might have been part of my "emotional investment".
Crop some photographs, work out your lights and darks in a sketch, and paint a simple painting. Have fun!