Jessica's Monet #9

"Jessica's Monet #9"
Acrylic on Canvas
16 X 20

So this may look familiar.. though it may not. I used a reference I have used before, but cropped it differently and the colors turned out different. I did not look at my previous painting since I didn't want to be influenced by it, so I'm happy to see that this painting is it's own.

It makes me think of when a bunch of people go to a "paint and sip" and everyone is using the same instructions and the same reference, but they all turn out very different, some drastically so. That was the effect I was going toward. I wanted to see where it took me on a different day.

One of the things I like about painting is that there is always a new way to represent an idea. I could paint from the same reference 100 times and each one would be different. Some would prefer what they create to look exactly like the reference, but for me, painting is about the imprint of the reference and my own creativity breathing through the rest. I use famous works that are no longer under copyright both because I love what the artist captured and because I love bringing their ideas back to life as a memorial. I don't want to copy stroke for stroke, as amazing of a talent as that would be, but I want to draw people into the world of art both past and present for the sheer enjoyment of something beautiful.

Here is a link to Claude Monet's "The Boats: Regatta at Argenteuil". Enjoy!