The Aracari and Photographer Permission–
I have loved the aracari ever since I saw it flying in the rainforest in Costa Rica. It is a small toucan and is not as easy to spot as a toucan because of its size. They love to eat palm nuts and this is usually where you can find them. I had some of my own photo references for this painting but came across the photos of James Adams. He is the manager of The Lodge at Pico Bonito in Honduras. I met him on Facebook and eagerly look forward to the pictures he posts on his page. I have wanted to do a painting for some time but just needed a little bit more reference to do it. When I saw that James had fabulous shots I immediately emailed him and asked him if it would be okay to use them as reference. He agreed! Thank you, thank you , thank you JAMES!
For those of you out there that use other people’s photographs a word of caution. You MUST ask permission to use a photo as reference and give the photographer credit whenever possible. They own the copyright and it is disrespectful to use it without permission as well as illegal. I do not like to simply copy a photograph but use many of them as reference to come up with a final composition. This is the kind of information that we teach on our Artistic Adventure Tours. We are headed to Costa Rica in February 2014. It looks like we may need a trip to Honduras to visit James!
Do you have a favorite photographer?
This painting is available for sale in my Daily Paintworks Gallery or can be purchased directly from me here. Original Colored Pencil Painting- Aracari 10″ x 14″ unframed. Fits into a 16″ x 20″ frame. $600 + free shipping.