Should paintings look like 'real life'?

Answer 1

It is the artist's choice! Some times, un-realistic elements can draw more attention to certain details. Painting in a realistic manner shows skill and can depict beauty, but art is the pursuit or more than that.

If you're an artist, consider carefully your goals in what you'd like to paint; for example, in a portrait of a person, do we always see a detailed background? Sometimes we do, but other times we just see indistinct colours, or meaningless patterns --this is not realistic, but it helps the person to be seen as the focal point.

Also, sometimes we see that shapes me be realistic, and colours or lighting may not be. This is a stylish look; have you seen those pictures of Obama with the limited colour tones? The shape is "realistic" but the colours are surreal. It evokes certain reactions.

Looking like "real life" takes a lot of skill, but making a great memorable painting is more important, and it might be possible to make a fantastic work of art that does not look like real life.

Spend some time looking at as many paintings as you can, you'll see so many styles, so many choices. If you want to avoid painting things that look real, do a search for "abstract" or "surreal" art, and see if you can get inspired by the alternatives.

Answer 2

A good way to make a realistic painting to is attention to detail. Include a lot of details, as well as shading and high lights. Look outside your window and at something as simple as a tree. If you were to take a picture to reference to a painting and pay close attention you would notice the textures, the shades as well as all the details to make up the tree. By using references, and lots of shades to make textures you are more likely to make something look good and realistic.