China's Photographic Painting Creation Method Research

Photographic painting, under the leadership of Gerhard Richter (1932-), whichis the combination of photography and painting, is gradually becoming a new possibleform of art. After mid-90s, in the trend of common interaction between modernpainting and photography, Chinese modern artists start to use photography as anelement in their artworks. Those artworks represent some visual effects ofphotography, however still preserving its nature as a painting. Through thecreative insights that had been put into the process of selection, use andrecreation of photography, companied with artistic practice and creativity, manyartists achieved success in this domain, and more importantly, more of them arestill on their way exploring. Artist Shu yang named this art movement as “China’s Photographic Painting”.Although there are so many alternative ways of photographic painting existingin China, while there are not as much of essays to formally discuss or documentthis creation, thus led to barrier of understanding of those who want to join thisexciting new flow. Therefore, the imminent issue of China’s Photographic Paintingis to keep detail documentation while its development.Photographic painting was drawn out from photography, but it is not as simpleas recopying the image, instead, the finished artworks always shows manyinteresting transformation of the originals.This article will start out in elaborate the invention and development ofphotography, via showing the impacts it had on mankind, and thus introducing theimpact it had on contemporary art. Followed by elaboration of the current situationof China’s Photographic Painting, from its birth, development to the current state.The core of this essay is to classify and explain the method of creating PhotographicPainting, including how to generate painting from images, which photography tochoose, what digital software were used in the process, how to reorder, recreate and harmonize the materials we have in hand and what are the reasons for this,finally what is the art form photographic paintings are trying to achieve. Thisessay will also expand an analysis of two categories; the image before renovationand the painting after transformation from the original photography, to detailcorrespond to those questions and issues posted above, and then extend thoughtsof the future development of China’s Photographic Painting.