The difference being

For every nude that is depicted in paint there must be ten thousand photographed. Unless a new generation of artists take courage and work with the nude, beyond the life class, I fear that we will lose a thread that has been there throughout history.

I say this, not to demean the work of the fine art photographer but to draw attention to the differences between the two. Regardless of how the photographic image is manipulated it retains an inherent definitive resemblance and to use a darkroom term, it is “fixed”. In contrast, a painting can leave a lot to the imagination and invite the viewer to contribute to the creative process.

To illustrate my point I have delved back into my archives for this photograph that was posted on May 29^th 2011 under the title “This way or that”.

Now compare the photograph with a recent painting posted on March 24^th 2016 under the title “Improvisations”. The models are different (the photograph is of my wife Denise and the painting is of my model Annabelle) but the pose almost is the same!