Artistic License: the freedom to create an artwork, musical work, or piece of writing based on the artist’s interpretation and mainly for effect (Dictionary.com)

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Oia – 16 year old disposable camera photo

As a realistic watercolor painter I choose to be pretty selective in how I use artistic license in my works, but no matter what your style or medium, there are many choices for an artist to make. It may mean choosing to leave out a tree, making different color choices, and sometimes it’s about how much detail to put in or leave out of an artwork.
You get the point.

And then there are times that I am forced into using artistic license. Those old, fuzzy photos from the disposable camera used on honeymoon 16 years ago can make it impossible to make out certain details. Often I try to research what really is/was there, or what the details really looked like.

Sometimes I luck out.
Sometimes I don’t.

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Zoom in: What is this? A flag of unicorns? And what is it hanging on? I can’t tell..

After any number of years, the items in the picture may no longer exist – at least that I can find. Often they’ve changed.
That’s ok – you can still make it work!
Leave it out, change the colors, add something in, it’s up to you.

Artistic license grants you the freedom to do what you want.
Embrace it!

Oia

Oia . . . without mystery flag. Because I couldn’t determine what it was, I left it out. I win!

 


Here are some other examples of how I’ve used artistic license.

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Notre Dame with tree

Watercolor, pen and ink of Notre Dame Cathedral Rose by artist Esther BeLer Wodrich

Notre Dame without tree, and crisper

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Southwark Bridge in full color and with oil and vinegar nozzles

Watercolor, pen and ink of Southwark Bridge in London, UK by artist Esther BeLer Wodrich

Southwark Bridge with selective color choices and without the oil and vinegar nozzles

 

Eiffel Tower through the trees. I wanted to see more of the bottom so I pulled a photo from the net to help me with finishing the bottom.

Eiffel Tower through the trees. I wanted to see more of the bottom so I grabbed a photo from the net to help me with seeing more of the bottom.

Watercolor, pen and ink of the Eiffel Tower in Paris France by artist Esther BeLer Wodrich

La Tour Eiffel – artistic license allowed me to choose how much detail to include and how I wanted to include it

 

Those poles where gondolas are tied up are pretty charming if you see a gondola attached. Not so much without the gondola.

Those poles where gondolas are tied up are only charming if you can see the gondola. Did I mention I’m a terrible photographer?!

Watercolor, pen and ink of the Isle of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice Italy, by artist Esther BeLer Wodrich

Isle of San Giorgio Maggiore – I moved the bird closer in, straightened out the picture and eliminated the poles.