Photography and art

Photography and art.

Since the invention of photography the debate has rattled on about whether artists should use photographs as reference,indeed a great friend of mine considers the camera an instrument of the devil! Personally I would find it difficult to create realistic seascapes without my own photos as means of capturing the moment a wave rolls ,break's or begins to curl ,especially in winter when light and time is at a premium,however all that said it's vital to me that I strive to improve on photography. In this painting for example I've completely moved the viewer's perspective by removing all the background behind the wave and only including the distant mountains of Snowdonia . It's a far more dramatic painting than it is a photo as a result.