There is nothing more humbling than to be asked by a fellow artist if they can paint one of my photographs
Dawn Vincent, an East Devon artist based in Seaton, spotted one of my images of a sunrise in Sidmouth on Instagram and wanted to use it as inspiration for a beautiful oil painting.
I picked up the paint brush in May 2023 after a break of more than two decades
Dawn has been showcasing her refound love for art on her website since she picked up the paintbrush once again.
"This is my way of documenting my journey as I rediscover art, and how to do it," writes Dawn.
"I live in Seaton, Devon so my inspiration for landscapes comes from being surrounded by stunning views of both sea and countryside. I’m also inclined to paint animals as my entire career has been and is dedicated to improving animal welfare and giving animals a voice through professional fundraising and marketing communications."
It goes without saying that I was more than pleased for Dawn to use my sunrise shot for her painting.
Dawn went on to say: "I always paint from a reference photo and there are just some images that inspire me to pick up the brush. Your photo of the Sidmouth seafront at sunrise jumped out at me! I am always trying to replicate the photo into a masterpiece painting but as a new oil painting artist I haven’t quite struck up the balance yet!!! Colour mixing being particularly challenging at the mo. Nonetheless I’ve enjoyed the time painting this."
As an East Devon photographer who loves to take landscape pictures, particularly of Sidmouth, I am often seting my alarm clock at ridiculous hours. Five o'clock on a summer's morning is a perfect time to have a wander by the sea and witness the start of a new day.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I reflect upon how my career has taken me to the stage where I'm able to say I'm a photographer and that I am able to earn a living by my camera. It has been a hard climb up the hill of experience, with some knocks along the way, but I am so glad that I persevered.
I am proud and humbled at the same time when I'm asked by fantastic artists like Dawn to let them use my images as inspiration for their own art.
I feel a certain sense of responsibility to share these rare moments of calm with my fellow creative colleagues who might otherwise be unable to see these wonderful scenes themselves. I believe that these moments belong to all and I am happy to share them.
If you are a local artist - painter, poet, photographer, sculptor and everything in between - then you might be interested in joining my Facebook group Creative Sidmouth
My dedicated photography groups, which you may also like to join, are Sidmouth Pictures, Devon Pictures and Somerset Pictures