About Photo References:

Now that I have introduced myself, I am going to delve right in on my newest painting in progress and the technique I used and why.

The reference photos below were taken on my trip to Pennsylvania to photograph wild, free roaming elk.

Original photo.

I really like the pose in the reference photo but I wanted the elk running in the opposite direction.

Cropped and reversed

By reversing the photo, I was able to envision how I wanted my painting to be.





I am in no way a professional photographer and still have a lot to learn in that area. But most of the photos I take are for reference whether it is wildlife, birds, leaves, moss, fence posts, colors of a sunset or sunrise, etc.. My photos are not used as professional photos for sale or exhibiting.

Quite often I will visit zoos or animals parks for my subject matter that I may want to paint. Even though the photo may show the fence or bars - that is OK. I use reference photos to show muscle, fur texture, pose, expressions and other important features I need to capture what I want to do in a painting. Here is an example photo of a 3 month old cougar cub that I took at one of the animal parks nearby and the completed painting using the reference photo - "New Adventures - Cougar Cub".

Original Photo

"New Adventures - Cougar Cub"

Sometimes I will come across a photo though that I just fell in love with and want to paint it like the photograph, without changing anything within the photo. Be really careful here though, if you are using a photo that someone else has taken, be sure you are not infringing copyright laws. Always ask the photographer to use their photo and if it can be used in a painting with a signed release from the photographer.

Since I have literally thousands of photos to refer to, I have the categorized to particular subject matter. It is easier for me to find the one I am looking for without searching every where to find that particular one for my painting.

Some photo reference sites that you may be interested in that I have used:

African Reference Photos
Paint My Photo

Where do you find the inspiration for your artwork? Please share your artistic process, I would love to hear from you. Questions and comments are welcomed!