Merging Reference Photos

Hay Bales Lining Up, 8 x 10

In my classes this week we studied using multiple reference photos for one painting. We took a look at how to merge elements without having the scene look disjointed.   This is the demo I did in my Monday class.  Many of my reference photos of fields and farmland tend to have lots of straight tree lines and other elements that are placed horizontally in the scene.  I find that to be boring in my paintings, so I look for opportunties to create a more active composition with angles and interruptions in the horizontal items. Here, I created a zig zag shape that draws the eye deeper into the scene, and also made some of the ground in the distance peek through the trees, which pulls the viewer in even further.  Below are the two reference photos used.