I did the painting above today. It is a distant view of Llandeilo. It is quite small about 7ins x 5ins. I had a piece of primed board available and thought it would suit.
I can get a bit picky when I see artists copy each other's work or subject. Of course in many cases artists will paint a well known view in their own style which is fine and absolutely legitimate. Endless artists have painted Llansteffan Castle from Turner to myself. What is a bit annoying is when an artist has their work obviously copied or their particular subjects painted. This does happen and is generally fairly obvious which is ridiculous really considering all the subjects available and the different ways of painting them.
The Internet unfortunately does promulgate this form of plagiarism. An artist may surf through online sites and copy other work without leaving the comfort of their own studio.
I raise this subject because I collect references for painting wherever I go. I sketch and take numerous digital images and have quite a library that I can use in the studio albeit I also like to paint outside when practical.
Last year I had an image in mind for a painting in Llandeilo. The particular subject was a specific view through the graveyard in the centre of the Town. Imagine my surprise when I went to an exhibition and saw the identical image I had yet to paint. The Exhibition was by my friend David Cowdry and I accused him tongue in cheek, of reading my thoughts.
I am glad I hadn't painted it as he had made a far better job of it than I would have!
So coincidences can happen ~ but not often.
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