Hi Roger,

After my father-in-law died, we gave a photo to a neighbor who drew his portrait free-hand and it was beautiful, almost near perfect, actually PERFECT because it was drawn by someone who knew him for many years and knew our family and did it from her heart.

I have the same opinion you do, the new laser-type machinery that can reproduce a drawing of a photo, or an etching into glass or plexiglass, is not the human touch, it may be a reproduction of an image, but it's not "art" produced by a human being with heart & soul.

I was thinking since my last post, we like to see faces of those we love, whether it's in a photo, or artwork or done by reproduction-machinery, because we love the person, but we would not "love" a piece of canvas or plexiglass just for the object itself, we only have a feeling for the image that's on it.

Photography or Reproductions vs. Artwork ...

A visual reproduction only captures the person for a moment, the way they look, but a portrait by an artist also gives a feeling of how the artist perceived the person, in the same room, a mood or a personality, a life force.

A photo or machine reproduction doesn't show you the people, neither the person in the subject nor the artist, the combination of both people is what makes portrait artistry beautiful and more real, the feeling of vibrance, of two people being in the same place and sharing time together, and whatever conversations they had prior to the sitting, it's all in the portrait.

Quote:

I was thinking since my last post, we like to see faces of those we love, whether it's in a photo, or artwork or done by reproduction-machinery, because we love the person, but we would not "love" a piece of canvas or plexiglass just for the object itself, we only have a feeling for the image that's on it.

Photography or Reproductions vs. Artwork ...

A visual reproduction only captures the person for a moment, the way they look, but a portrait by an artist also gives a feeling of how the artist perceived the person, in the same room, a mood or a personality, a life force.

A photo or machine reproduction doesn't show you the people, neither the person in the subject nor the artist, the combination of both people is what makes portrait artistry beautiful and more real, the feeling of vibrance, of two people being in the same place and sharing time together, and whatever conversations they had prior to the sitting, it's all in the portrait.

Thanks, Myrna!

I saw the Mt. Shasta painting you posted at the other forum, I really like the road leading up to it, I got so busy replying & posting to other things there!

I'm better with words, I think I made a quote last year or a poem:

"I wish I was an artist, said the poet..."

(but a poet IS an artist of words) we all seem to want to be great at something other than our own talents.

I keep thinking lately, if we know how to do something, but we choose not to do it, if we choose not to share our talent or knowledge, that seems to be a crime against humanity, the more I think about it, it strikes me as "criminal activity" to NOT share what we're good at.

Kathleen,

Life and people sometimes convince others that they have no creativity in them. That is so rarely true.

How do we convince folk that they have a LION inside of them?

Roger