My Techniques: Choosing the Subjects of my Paintins


	How I Choose My Subjects

I have always used photographs that I have taken myself as the basis of my paintings. Previously, I used an Olympus Stylus 140 QD camera, which has a zoom of 38-140. This allowed me to zoom in close to my subject. I found that with this amount of zoom, it was better to use 400 speed film.

This past April, I decided to buy a Canon Powershot G2 digital camera. Although the zoom isn't as long (the equivilent of 38-105), its a 4 megapixel camera so I can crop it tight and still get a sharp photo. To make up for the zoom, I bought an Olympus teleconverter lens A-200 which increases the zoom to about 150. It's a pain to screw the lens on and off but it does a good job and at least I have it for shots where I can't walk any closer. The most useful feature of the Canon G2, as far as I'm concerned is the swivel LCD. I can hold it over my head and point the LCD down, I can hold it at ground level without getting on my stomach, reach out sideways. Well, anyway you've got the idea. I've really enjoyed using this camera and would recommend it. The first painting that I did from a photo with this camera is "Garden with Tulips and Wisteria." I reached my hand through a picket fence into someone's yard to get the photo. Since most of my body was on the public sidewalk, I really don't consider it trespassing.

I know that some artists insist that you have to stand outside and paint but I've never felt comfortable doing this. Even when I just stop long enough to take a photograph, I've had people come up to me and ask what I'm doing. One woman came running across the street because she thought that her husband had called a real estate agency behind her back to put her house on the market and that's why I was taking the pictures. When I told her I was just taking pictures of her garden, she told me about some other gardens on the block.

I feel that an artist can find beauty wherever he or she looks. That's what makes an artist different from other people. My subjects are therefore always the area around me. In order to cover as much ground as possible, I treated myself to a Brompton folding bicycle which I really like. I am able to easily put the bike in the back of my station wagon and go to a different place each time and start from there. I found that with my old bicycle, I would be tired long before I got to anyplace new. Here are some pictures of my Brompton and me riding it.

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How I Choose My Subjects

How I Choose
My Subjects