TODAY'S FEATURED POST

Mighty Men & Monster Maker

Dan dos Santos

I take a real enjoyment in going back to the things that inspired me as a kid, and got me into art in the first place. Lately I've been on a kick of re-watching old television shows I enjoyed as a kid (introducing them to my children now), and re-reading the comic books that later inspired me as a teenager. There's no real "reason" for doing this. I'm not trying to bone up on basics,…

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EVERYDAY ORIGINAL

The Keeper

YESTERDAY’S POST

Image

The danger of reference

Jesper Ejsing

April 28, 2025 - I use photo reference all the time. I try to put them away and work from imagination but then I get insecure and I start searching in books or on the internet for things looking like the stuff I am painting. Most time it creates a fake security and I continue painting what is needed for the image anyway without using the ref. But finding it, helped me in overcoming the insecurity anyway. I still think that reference is, by large, the killer of creativity. Here is 2 things I noticed: When I paint without reference the image becomes more dynamic and spontaneous and also more personal. When I paint from reference they become more realistic and believable, seems more precise but loose a bit of the personality. I talked to Paul Bonner one day,…

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