Thumbnail Test

Here’s a simple but effective test that I frequently use.

It’s for when you are making your way through a painting and need to check if you’re on the right track. Or if you know you made a mistake but are unsure what it is.

What you do is take your reference photo and compare it side-by-side to a photo of your painting as thumbnails. That last part is the key. They must be thumbnails (small images, not much bigger than the size of your thumbnail).

This reduces the amount of visible detail and forces you to see from a big-picture perspective. Any visible discrepancies tend to be big-picture issues like value, composition, drawing, and theme. This makes it easier to identify the root cause of any issues, rather than getting lost in all the detail and noise.

If there are no clear discrepancies, then you know you’re on the right track.

I’ll give you an example from a small painting I’m working on now. See thumbnails of the reference photo and progress shot below.

What do these images tell me? (Ignoring the obvious incomplete areas of my painting.)

The tree needs more contrast. In particular, stronger and cleaner highlights and shadows. This tree is the focal point of the painting, so it needs to be right.
The overall color theme is good, though it is a touch too saturated (the colors are too rich). But I could chalk this up to exercising my artistic license.
The leaves at the top need to be darker and form stronger and more organized shapes. They are a bit weak and scattered at the moment.

Everything else looks fairly on track.

Anyway, give it a go with your next painting. You may find it to be quite a helpful little trick.

If you want more painting tips and tricks, you may be interested in our Landscape Painting Masterclass. We have rolled back the price for the next week.