Thursday, June 25, 2009

Rear View Tip

Here’s a handy way to get a fresh look at a painting. For just a few dollars at an auto part store you can get one of these stick-on convex mirrors.

They help you see your work in a new way because they both reverse and miniaturize your composition, making it immediately clear if you’re getting the Big Statement right.

Remember: objects in mirror are closer than they appear!

Related GJ post on getting a fresh eye and Lorrain mirrors.
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7 comments:

  1. RichardJune 25, 2009 at 10:08 AM

    Great idea. Small and portable. How does it compare to reducing lens?
    Richard

    ReplyDelete
  2. Erik BongersJune 25, 2009 at 10:17 AM

    Great idea indeed.

    And the '...closer than they appear' warning brings back memories from the Hertz rental cars I slid across a snow covered NJ turnpike hitting a few coin collection baskets on the way to get me back in the right direction.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJune 25, 2009 at 10:30 AM

    James,

    I don't know what I would do without a small mirror. It is such s great tool.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oscar BaechlerJune 25, 2009 at 4:16 PM

    Tis an essential design tool in Photoshop as well. Or rather, setting a hotkey for "reverse document horizontal."

    ReplyDelete
  5. C B SorgeJune 26, 2009 at 2:21 AM

    Clever! It solves the problem of having large pieces be hard to lug to a mirror to view them, or, for college going kids like myself, easier to move with from place to place in a cramped dorm or whever, unlike large panes of brittle glass.

    ReplyDelete
  6. DaveJune 26, 2009 at 4:19 PM

    Thats a great idea why didn't we think of that years ago; one could go to a used car lot and get all kinds of mirror stuff––––and Jim I love your Blog––Lee Crabb

    ReplyDelete
  7. James GurneyJune 26, 2009 at 4:24 PM

    Thanks, Dave...and for those who may wonder, Dave was the model for the character Lee Crabb in the Dinotopia books: See GJ post about the Real Lee Crabb

    ReplyDelete

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