Thursday 3 May 2012

03/05: PEOPLE PICS

I'm getting behind with my Blogging again .... somehow this horrible wet/windy/miserable weather we've had for weeks has made me very lethargic and slow.   We have had lots of appointments and been dashing around for a few days but today was a 'free day'.  

I started the day with a plan to finish the current drawing and make a start on tidying my studio.   Since taking down the pictures from my last exhibition in Whitstable they've remained stacked on the floor against the walls and need to be rehung or tidied away and the room 'spring-cleaned'  -  the current picture was almost finished today but won't be shown here for a few weeks.  I have a gap till the next commission so will select one or two of the recent ref. photos to work from as exhibition pieces to meet competition/exhibition deadlines in a couple of months time.

My last post showed a few photos of the beautiful spring flowers at Keukenhof, Holland.     As I became bored with flowers I started to photograph some of the people in the park ..... always a 'naughty' feel to doing this - trying not to be obvious but judging by the expressions on some faces I think I was spotted!!    I'm always trying to find a 'character' or two to draw or at least incorporate into a drawing somehow.  There were a few I quite liked so ... watch this space


Sisters do you think???


I think some visitors to the park had set out to 'outdo' the colourful blooms judging by their attire!




What was noticeable was that very few people were smiling ..... perhaps tulip spotting is a very serious business? .....  I did get some great shots of a group of young girls petting and grooming a calf in the childrens zoo area - they might feature in an upcoming drawing as I'm sure will this brother and sister - I took a few sneaky shots of these two as they posed for the camera for their mum.    The little girl spotted me and my camera and gave me a beaming smile later on - bless!


I know of some artists/bloggers who use Google earth photos for inspiration for their 'character' paintings but I've never found enough detail in the pictures for my liking ... so I'll have to continue to be 'secret squirrel' and carry on snapping this sort of hurried shot at every opportunity.  Having taken the photos myself I know I can use them as reference material for art exhibitions - the rules of many exhibitions  now insist that ref. photos must have been taken by the artist and not 'borrowed' - even with the photographer's permission.

That's all for today.   Sorry I can't show the current work for a few weeks hence filling the gaps with photos rather than drawings ;-)

7 comments:

  1. I love the pic of the older lady in the purple top, black jacket, and scarf! Great expression. Lots of great pics on this page! I've never been brave enough to take pics of others in public.....yet. (= steve

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  2. I do try to be discrete and it helps when David (hubby) is with me as I can get him to pose relatively close to the intended 'victims' and pretend to photograph him then swing the camera round a little :-)

    Still hoping for 'that special' photo though.

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  3. Ooooh wow, don't you have a feast of lovely photos here to use as reference photos. Good for you Sue - I love some of those classic expressions!!! I'm always a bit nervous to take candid shots like this of strangers, but now you have inspired me. What would you do if someone recognises themselves?

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  4. Sell them on the idea of having a Doppelganger???? or hope my drawing/interpretation of the photo is so poor they wouldn't recognise themselves LOL

    Seriously, my understanding is that there is no law against photographing people unless you use the photos for commercial or criminal gain. If I used one of the reference photos as part of a drawing and the 'model' objected then I would alter the drawing or withdraw it as appropriate.

    When in France recently I wanted to photograph a 'street musician' playing a piano accordian with a lovely Golden Retriever as companion. I couldn't take a 'sneaky' photo so paid him to pose ... unfortunately his poses were so theatrical that the end results were pretty useless for what I wanted!! C'est la vie!!

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  5. You've gotten some great shots here, Sue & it will be interesting to see which you choose and how you portray them!
    Don't keep us in suspense too long!

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  6. Hi, nice to visit your blog, looks like you had a great day to look at the tulips and people watch. It does look like they weren't happy, can't imagine why as I find the glow of colours from the tulips makes me feel so happy.
    I enjoyed my visit and I will certainly be back.

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  7. Hi Jan .... just deciding which one/s to start on next :-)

    Thanks for looking/commenting Wendy. Seeing so many 'glum' faces has made me think about my 'natural' expression in repose. Going to practice turning up the corners of the mouth methinks!! Then people will probably think I'm weird :-)

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