It's not copying when you're learning...

If I had a penny for every time I heard people say "It's not considered your work if you're copying from other artists, it's cheating".  In the case of those artists who actually decide to make profit off of the artwork that they copied, yes I must say that's totally Messed Up, not to mention it's illegal in many cases, and obviously it's a reputation crusher. But if you happen to be like me and a few other out there who consider recreating other's artwork as a way of learning how to become a better artist, to understand concepts, and most definitely a way of practice, then Congratulations...You Have An Open Mind.

I must admit I wasn't always open to that idea until I had several conversations with some of my instructors who told me that even the Greats copied from other Greats! Even Glenn Vilpu, who I consider one of, if not the best artists out there today, said to not be afraid to copy from the works of the artist that you admire, in his case he was studying Renaissance artists' works and the human figure.

Since then I have done several paintings who were originally done by artist I admire quite a lot, and I must say I've learned quite a bit just by studying how they created those particular paintings, and I've acquired a certain way or should I say steps in creating artworks that come together quite nicely.

I'm going to post some of them just to share how I've done. I'm not taking any credit for the ideas for the painting, they obviously belong to the artist who created them. I just want to share my versions of those artworks.

Original artist: Greg "Craola" Simkins

Original artist: James Jean

Original artist: unknown, I found a photograph of this graffiti art on a brick wall and I just thought it was pretty cool..kudos to whoever came up with it. I changed mine a little.

 

A picture of Ganesha, a Hindu Deity, also known as the "Remover of Obstacles"! 

 

This was an Old Indian Motorcycle Ad that I decided to use for a project... I am a big fan of vintage pin-up art and artists such as Gil Elvgren!

P.S. If anyone is interested in watching a pretty awesome documentary about art plagiarism and the people that make profit off of it, whether you agree with it or disagree, I still think it's a gutsy movie! It's called "F for Fake" it's Mr. Orson Welles' final directorial effort. Check it out!