I'm starting to focus on trying to get my work into galleries, cafes, salons, wherever to attempt to get some exposure. In focusing on this, I realize that I have a very tiny body of themed work...certainly not enough to go in a gallery (maybe a group show, but certainly not a solo exhibition, well anywhere, be it a gallery or coffeehouse.). I'm always trying to do new work for L'Elizabeth R., so I thought I could kill two peasants with one stone. This is another painting based on a series of beautiful photos I found from Kentwell Hall. The lighting at that place (and consequently in the photos) is so pristine, so Vermeer, that I just had to paint it after I was done drooling.
I have a question for you all, now. How close is too close to photo reference? This painting uses the same pose as my reference photo, and the same lighting obviously...do I somehow lose artistic integrity by painting from someone else's photo? Do I need to buy a good camera and take my own photos to paint from, and will that then make it okay? Or is there nothing wrong with it at all? In school, we were downright scolded for not getting good reference, but we were also not to be slaves to our reference. I don't feel like I was slaving, just maybe relying...is that bad? I love the painting, and it seems very much independent of its reference photo....what do you all think?
