This is a small watercolor I did recently copying someone else's painting. Newbies like me paint other people's work sometimes: to see how they did it, to use a good palette of colors, and to practice, and..... because we are too lazy to set up our own still life, choose our own colors, work out the composition. Mostly the latter. My husband hates when I do this - imitating. (this one is especially sad because I didn't retain the artist's name of the original). My husband encourages me to use my own brain to paint. But, sometimes I'm curious. Can I do that?? Or some image strikes me to the heart, and I can't afford it, so I secretly place it in my own stash to enjoy, of course, giving the true artist credit (most of the time). If this is your painting please accept my highest regard for the opportunity to try to imitate you. I would never sell it. I will just enjoy it for art's sake. Please send me your name....Do you ever copy other people because you don't have the confidence to make your own creative stuff? Honestly, I think it makes us lazy and steals something from our own creative endeavors. But, are there any real original thoughts left- aren't they all borrowed or inspired by another? Doesn't someone somewhere get credit for something you've done from scratch from your own head. I often ponder these things.
5 comments:
I loved reading this,sometimes I am just at a blank and I'll be inspired by someone else's work....I think ceativity is contagious and works best if you don't worry about someone 'stealing' your ideas...I am a retired hairdresser,and in my work the best artists I met were the ones that shared what they knew.....I love your art!!!!
oh don't worry about helping yourself to someone's ideas once in awhile....people do it in all areas of life all the time...there seems to be some sort of stigma about "copying" someones idea in art but we always put our individual spin on it and we also learn from others...so we can't help but do a bit of copying from time to time.
I am always falling in love with some artist's work or another, mostly in books, and will see a painting and want to know how they did it....so I too copy! (don't tell anybody!)
I think it's a good learning technique as long as you're not taking credit or trying to profit from it.
I like this painting. The colors perk me up.
Oh, I'm pounding my knee is agreement with that question you've asked, "Are there any original thoughts/ideas left out there anywhere?" I lamented to a friend a couple years ago that I wondered if any of us ever have a truly original thought. We are taught what to think and what to know from day one.
I used to sew clothes for myself and for my daughters....always using someone else's patterns, of course. And, I used to do cross-stitch, using someone else's pattern designs. Sigh. For me, it seems the only originality I can find to do is in writing and photography.
I would be toooo overwealmed thinking if I can do anything that hasn't been done before...
My Grandmother passed away last year in May...on last Mother's Day (as a present for my Mother) I painted my Grandmas' hands (two paintings). When I was walking with my Mother she asked me a question...is there anything in this world that hasn't been painted before? I stayed quite - and then she answered question herself - "Yes, my Mother...my Mothers' hands, no one painted it before!"
Inspiration is something different than copying. We copy paintings or drawings to learn, to find out how, what colours to use etc...and then one day it comes to us - we are inspired and create sth noone else done before (and because we've been copying, practising...we can do it better..)
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