Long before he became a master of illustration and portraiture, Evolve Founder and artist Kevin Murphy spent his childhood and teenage years copying a painting from one artist or another. Fantasy and bodybuilding magazines were ripped up and reimagined to make original artwork.
This experience of borrowing from other artists was an important education. Eventually, a fascination with other artists’ work led to a remarkable career in illustration. However, none of this could have come about if copying painting from another artist had not inspired his own, original work.
Copying a painting is a powerful learning tool for beginning artists. Of course, care and thought are necessary to deter plagiarism, which always prevents original ideas from forming.
Ideally, the goal behind copying a painting or borrowing from other artists is to develop your own unique style and expression. And the longer you paint, the more your style will emerge.