How Do I Get My Photos to Paint?

You may wonder, how do you get the photos you paint?

 I'm taking photos all the time. I take them in my home or someone else's home, driving through town, walking etc. I take pictures of storefront windows. Occasionally, I have asked to paint a photograph taken by a friend or even a stranger. I ask permission to paint the image. I have visited furniture stores and asked to photograph their merchandise.  At least once, I've asked a friend to send me photographs of her chairs. The point is to keep my eyes open all the time and try to capture the images I love and that may be used in paintings.

Hickory, NC is known for its furniture market. I have walked floor to floor in the market visiting many of the showrooms. One showroom asked if I would paint their chairs and could they display some of my paintings for a while. They even asked if I would live-paint for an opening that was coming up. I enjoy live-painting and was happy to do so. They offered to make chairs for me to paint in whatever wood or fabric I chose. However, I found chairs on display that piqued my interest. I took them outside to shoot because my preference is almost always for natural light. Sunlight makes great shadows and the shadows ground the piece in the space. Sometimes I find myself more enthralled with the abstract shape of the shadow than I do the chair. As a painter I get to create my own world and choose what goes into it, or not. If the photo has a dumpster, I may choose not to show it, but then again I might. How do I make that choice? That sounds like a topic for a future post.