Q: Do you ever use other people’s photographs as reference material for your paintings?
Some Reference Photos
A: For a number of reasons, I never use anyone else’s photographs as reference material. It seems wrong on many levels. Besides the fact that it is theft of intellectual property, it would mean I did not have the all-important experience of finding and making the photograph. Each reference photograph is the beginning of an idea for a future pastel painting. How each photograph even comes to exist – the travel and adventure behind it and the memories and stories that result – is an essential first step in my months- and even years-long creative process.
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Posted on October 25, 2025, in 2025, An Artist's Life, Creative Process, Photography, Working methods and tagged adventure, all-important, beginning, creative process, essential, experience, finding, future, intellectual property, levels, making, material, memories, number, painting, pastel, pastel painting, people, photographs, reason, reference, result, stories, travel. Bookmark the permalink. Comments Off on Q: Do you ever use other people’s photographs as reference material for your paintings?.
