Painting from Someone Else's Photos: Why Not?

Photos remind you what you were feeling at the time.

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Recently, someone approached me with a project he was working on and wanted my opinion. The project: creating a library of photo references for artists to paint from. His question: Would I or my students find the library useful?

My answer: Thanks for asking, but I use only my photos when I need to paint from photos. Reason being, they serve as a memory aid and also help me remember the mood of a place, what I was feeling at the time. I can't get that from another person's photos. I also encourage my students to do the same. Painting is about personal experience.