What to do when you get stuck.
My name is Karen Franqui Elkan and I am primarily a pastel artist, although I also do works in graphite or charcoal. I grew up in Kalispell MT and was fortunate to have some wonderful local artists to learn from. But more on that another time! Today, I’m talking about getting inspiration for a project
What do you do when you get in a rut with your art? Or, what do you do when you have an idea, but you don’t know where to start? One idea is to join an artist’s photo reference group. You can browse through different subjects for ideas to jump start your next project. Or maybe that idea you have just needs some reference material to finesse your project. You can even just browse through photos when you are just killing time. You never know what you might find!
My latest piece was of a Highland cow that I found in my Artist reference photo group. I gathered some shots that I liked and downloaded them while I considered what to do with them. The name of the Facebook group is Reference photos for artists and the photos were taken by Steve Parkinson. Using a couple of different photos and a little artistic license, I ended up with my finished piece.
There are several groups or individual photographers that provide photos for artists to use in their work free of charge. Free Reference Photos for Artists by WenPhotos and Free Reference Photos for Artists by Holly, are two of my favorites. The photographers all allow full use of their photographs for personal use, or for selling. They do request that when you post your artwork on the group site, that you include their name with your post. Some of the photographers are also artists, and enjoy seeing other interpretations of their material. Some just post photos because they enjoy seeing what artists can do with them. It is interesting to see how different artists produce such different work.
This is a wonderful source for artists or crafts people when they need reference material for anything from birds to mountains. Some of the groups on Facebook may also offer additional photos by joining them on Patreon for a nominal fee. This helps them provide even more wonderful photos. I always like, or post comments thanking the photographers for their photos, whether I use them or not. I truly appreciate all the photos that I see or use in these groups!