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Monday, December 2, 2024

Balancing Inspiration and Originality in Art

When starting a new project, I seek out inspiration photos of the subject I want to capture. If I don’t have the right images in my personal collection, I search online to find the perfect composition and perspective. For this particular project, I was looking for reference photos such as an octopus, sharks, sea grass and starfish which I will incorporate into my work.

People often ask me, “Isn’t that copyright infringement?” While it can be, I usually alter the image to make it my own. I’m reminded of a quote often attributed to Picasso: *“Good artists copy; great artists steal.”* I’m not suggesting this is inherently right or wrong, but it’s how I’ve learned to paint a variety of subjects. Without a photographic memory, this approach helps me refine my artistic process.

Look out for my next blog post when I merge my subjects. 


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