XPost: alt.magick, alt.religion.wicca, alt.recovery.adult-children   
   From: the.netkitten@gmail.com   
      
   arewhanariki wrote:   
   (snip)   
   > I have always seen great beauty in men but this is the first time I have   
   > asked one if I could paint his picture. I figure from here on out if I   
   > am going to have a muse, I had better tell him about it, because if he   
   > is uncomfortable with me thinking about him visually and drawing him,   
   > then there is going to be a problem. After two go rounds of problems I   
   > finally wised up and decided to actually talk to the men I wanted to   
   > draw and get their permission, and it worked. I have always been   
   > inspired by males since I was a teenager. Doing a portrait of someone is   
   > an intimate thing and I certainly wouldn't want to do it against   
   > someone's will. So I don't. The best thing is when you can photograph   
   > your subject and then work off your photograph. And the absolutely best   
   > thing is when you can communicate with your subject before hand, let   
   > them know you are photographing them, show them the picture, ask them if   
   > they approve, and then paint it. That's the way to go.   
      
   Dumbass.   
      
   Photographs are flat and mechanical. They don't always give a true   
   representation of a person. Surely you have you heard the phrase... "She   
   photographs well" or "He doesn't photograph well"? Have you ever taken a   
   picture of a really attractive person and it just didn't LOOK like them?   
   As a rule I don't photograph well. Not just false modesty... just that   
   it takes real skill to bring out *me*.   
      
   "Her beauty lies within" is more than a flowery compliment for the   
   Ugly... it's a statement about *presence* and being able to capture that   
   often intangible presence is what is known as Talent.   
      
   Call this presence what you want: personal energy... their soul, if   
   you'd rather...  it can't be captured without the insight and intuition   
   of an Artist. A photographer is a type of artist... and knows angles and   
   lighting techniques that will bring out what he SEES in his subject. An   
   artist... likewise... uses their medium to do the same.   
      
   Working off of a photograph ISN'T the best thing just *anyone* can do.   
   How can you even SUGGEST that a 2 dimensional model is better than a 4   
   dimensional one?   
      
      
   =^..^=   
   A.Ceelie   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)