I usually take my own reference pics but not always. For my painting Converse I used a copyright free image from a site called Pixabay, alongside my own photograph (for the shadows), and a couple of times, for portraits, I've used images shared by a Telegram group called Cane-Yo.
Twice now I have used photographs taken by my friend and photographer Jon McRae. I've been trying to work out why this felt different and I realised that I had been inspired by Jon's photos. With the other reference pic, the idea came first!
I have to say it felt a bit like cheating because Jon had already made those artistic decisions and elevated the photograph from just a snapshot to a piece of art in its own right. I think that's why I have felt the need to shout 'this is not my reference pic' loudly and often.
The first painting was Table for Two. I fell in love with the photo and was so excited about painting it. If I had been in Mons, Belgium, where the photo was taken, sketching or painting en plein air I doubt very much that I would have zoomed in quite as much. The evolution of the painting fascinates me!
I am currently on a train with the second painting, Ally Pally, on my way to deliver it to the Mall Galleries for the Royal Society of British Artists Exhibition. I stayed very true to Jon's photo but ultimately mine is an interpretation. I don't know how to describe my style of painting but it's definitely not hyper-realism. It's quite painterly.
I'm so grateful that Jon allowed me to use his photographs as reference for Table for Two and Ally Pally - they are two of my favourite paintings. Both have created opportunities for me that I could never have imagined.
I will continue to be inspired by anything and everything and I'm sure I will use other people's reference pics again in my work if it speaks to me (with their permission of course).
Comments