Alot of people believe that painting and photography or film, should be kept separate. That using a photo is, to a certain extent, cheating. I have found that this is especially true of critics of wildlife art. Some painters in the world today work solely from photos, others, entirely from life. I prefer to combine these two schools of thought.
After all, there is no way to ask an elephant to stand still for 3 days whilst you paint him. I prefer to combine my field research in the form of sketches, paintings, photos and film in order to assemble a finished piece. However, I have always believed in getting as close to your subject as possible, in short, meeting the animal, regardless of the intended composition. My aim as an artist is to relate that experience, as well as my love, passion and enthusiasm I have for the creatures of this planet, to my viewers, providing that link through my chosen media of paintings and film.
I derive great pleasure from researching and studying my wildlife subjects and if I can share and communicate that pleasure to others through my paintings and films, then I feel like I have really achieved something.
Ben Waddams August 2007 art safari art holidays art breaks different tracks wildlife art safari ben waddams artist
(meeting a sea otter, California's West Coast 2006)