my art page for my friends here who don't know of it

[link]

For ages i made a point of keeping the two accounts apart so that the some of the people who originally knew me for my art wouldn't be aware of my stock images. I suppose i felt a bit unsure, for i'm friends with a lot of unlikeminded people too haha.

But i feel a lot better about it now. the compliments on the stock photos i get are fantastic and i am very grateful that people are kind enough to encourage me. It's good fun also, being creative with ideas for them.

I used to always paint and draw without any references, and have went back to my old ways again. Drawing stuff just straight from your mind. It comes out a bit more cartoony though. For me it's always the idea behind things more than anything. When i look through artworks here i become very amazed, whether it's the fine detail work in Katerina Koukiotis's art, or the bright and beautiful colours of Susan Rodio's work, Or Jen Singleton's gothic romantic stuff, i'm always inspired and amazed at the quality of their work, and the work of many other artists that i really should be mentioning but i'm too lazy to. But these are my best friends and artists i've come to love and admire.

But i went back to drawing without reference photos. It feels therapeutic i suppose, and it's always the way i've drawn for most of my life. I actually grew up with the notion that to use photos to draw from was "cheating", like it was a competition or something.

So a few years ago i began painting and using photos to help me. I feel my artwork improved, but i'm never that happy with my paintings, because i never learned to detail them. Drawings however, with fine pencil lead you can get precise lines that for me a paintbrush can't do.

Anyway, looking through the great stock on DA, i've become inspired again to start using stock photos, and i begin to see that having reference photos is a good idea, using them as a guide to further create the vision, and it's the vision, the idea, that in the end for me is the most important thing.....well, that and trying to make something beautiful too.

anyway, thanks for everyone's support and being nice to me, that means alot .

James