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How would you like to earn $45 while sleeping? Well that’s just what Roy Lichtenstein’s ‘sleeping girl’ has done! Created using oil and manga on canvas in 1964 the work has just been auctioned at Sothebys. The hammer went down at a cool $44,882,500 beating all previous record breaking sales of the artist.

So what makes a sleeping girl so attractive?

Well, the artwork itself certainly has sex appeal, mystery and desire. But for what reason did Lichtenstein create it? Well thankfully Sothebys provide a great interview with Paul Schimmel discussing the artwork in depth:

Video in short:

Lichtenstein was different to Warhol. Warhol took celebrities and stars and made them into remote beings. Lichtenstein on the other hand was attracted to the female form in both an emotional and physical way. Roy Lichtenstein was concerned with the emotions of woman and found the emotional connection very important. In particular to the women he loved.
Therefore the artwork he created of women are seen as the most intimate and emotional paintings he ever created.

The artwork was painted in 1964 and at this time there were lots of changes happening in both the artworld and in Lichtensteins personal life also. In 1964 roy met Dorothy while she helped curate a show titled “The Great American Supermarket”. They fell in love and went on to marry the very next year. Roy truly put his life into his work at this time. It is these emotions that Roy felt at this time and the connection between himself and Dorothy was the subject of the emotianal connections between man and women in his work. Roy died in 1997 and Dorothy went on to establish the Lichtenstein Foundation in his honour.

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• 100% Hand Painted

• 100% Original

• Certificate of Authenticity

• Free UK Delivery

• 14 Day No-Questions Returns

• ‘Paint Me Similar’ available

• 100% Hand Painted

• 100% Original

• Certificate of Authenticity

• Free UK Delivery

• 14 Day No-Questions Returns

• ‘Paint Me Similar’ available

Want to know how to convert your images to black and white?

Simply follow our easy to follow free tutorial here.

Canvas Prints | Pop Art Portraits | Photos on Canvas | BUY 1 GET 1 FREE!

Canvas Prints | Pop Art Portraits | Photos on Canvas | BUY 1 GET 1 FREE!

Visual art is an endless playground where imagination and technique collides and bursts into beautiful results. One of the major forms of visual art, photography, has itself branched out into many other forms and processes such as art from photos. From the crude methods of the earliest cameras, to the sleek processing with modern software, photography has been constantly evolving, constantly expanding. And still, the results never fail – photographs are stunning, appealing, affecting. From this wonderful sandbox comes the spellbinding power of art.

The earliest creation of art from photos is arguably the most magical. It was as close as humans could get to wizardry: to literally play with light and capture it on a flat surface. As early as the 5th century BC, philosophers and mathematicians, including Aristotle, had already proposed the idea of using a simple camera obscura (Latin for “dark room”). Their version was basically a box with a pinhole through which light can enter and form an image, this was the beginning of art from photos.

Much later, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, Louis Daguerre, and Hercules Florence became some of the first to use chemicals such as silver nitrate, iodine vapour, and mercury fumes to ‘fix’ a black-and-white photos onto a plate. Many significant discoveries had been contributed since then, but it was in 1884 when George Eastman made a pivotal turn towards modern photography. He replaced photographic plates with dry gel-coated paper – the great ancestor of film. Yet another development in the history of art photos.

In modern times, photography has developed so much and at faster rate, going on to explore colour and digital processing. Art from photos remains essentially the same, but it is the rendering that has been changing and branching out. For example, portraiture has been popular since the 1800s, and until now, it is still a principal branch of photography. In the early days of art from photos and photos to art, people had to make do with plain backgrounds, soft lighting, and sitting still to keep the focus on the subject of a picture. Now, with modern devices, art from photos can be done in practically any environment and with any pose, but the focus remains on the person being photographed and creating stunning art from photos.

More importantly, the purpose of art from photos has never changed. That is to encapsulate the features and looks of people – a crinkle on the eyes, the gentleness of a lady’s fingers, a slight emerging smile – so that they may withstand the passing of time. The development of various kinds of equipment and devices has been a key factor in the evolution of art from photos. Cameras, complementing equipment, and post-processing software are now commonly used to produce art from photos.

Modern cameras now provide photographers with options on how to produce art from photos. Digital cameras provide more ease than ever before in capturing, reproducing, and sharing pictures. These digital devices have themselves branched out into two major types. The compact digital cameras, also called point-and-shoot cameras, are generally handier and more widely used. Meanwhile, digital single-lens reflex cameras, or DSLRs, allow more professional control such as in the amount of light controlled through the aperture, or in the speed of capture controlled through the shutter.

Recently, there has been a growing support for vintage cameras. Unlike their digital counterparts, these older devices provide little room for adjustments and refinements. Thus, they produce distinct art – whether with a washed out colour, or a grainy look, or an obvious flaw in capturing light. But these ‘flaws’ are not considered inferior. In fact, they are valued because they add a subtle touch of nostalgia – a softness that brings back a poignant atmosphere of innocence.

There has also been a wide appreciation of black-and-white photographs and cameras. The lack of colour is perfect for eliminating unnecessary clutter, highlighting only an aspect or two of a certain scene. The results are usually beautiful, dramatic art from photos, devoid of anything but pure focus on a subject.

To add to the power of cameras, complementing equipment are also available for better-quality art photos. Some of the most common are tripods and mono pods, which are basically stands for holding a camera still. There are also lighting equipment such as flashes, reflectors, and different kinds of bulbs. Most of these are great for wonderful vivid images, as in emotive facial expressions on a sunset and gentle loving gestures during a wedding. All make wonderful art from photos.

And then there is the post-processing of photographs. Post-processing refers to the enhancement or alteration of a picture that has already been captured. In other words, it is a kind of retouching. This is done mostly on computers with the use of specialised but accessible software. Thus, post-processing is usually under digital photography. This processing can be used in many ways to create wonderful art from photos.

Some of the most basic techniques in post-processing to create art from photos are cropping to cut away a certain part of a picture, rotating or tilting to alter the perspective, and tone adjustments to slightly change the colour of the picture. Then there are the more advanced processes, such as blurring, lighting adjustments, and erasing certain elements that are not supposed to be present in your art from photos.

Post-processing can greatly enhance or alter art from photos, and thus, it is not approved of in practical uses of photography such as for documentation and studies. It is mostly exclusive in artistic photography. But modern art takes photos one step further with the use of computer software. And here is the territory of digital photo-based visual art.

It sounds like a broad field, but digital art that’s based on photos is actually a niche of its own. While other forms of digital art involve sketching and colouring with software, digital art from photos does not require those. It only takes a photo and uses software to turn it into a new artwork, be it a vector art, a dream-like imagery, or even a pop-art poster. It is much different from the usual retouching techniques in post-processing, because it creates a new picture altogether.

With such rich history and amazing processes in visual art, it is no wonder that art from photos have become interesting symbols of life. The memories they hold, the time they represent, the emotions they stir – they all form part of an enchantment.

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It’s in every sound, every corner and even in every picture. No piece is ever dull – not even a simple photograph. For a photograph is a frame fitting in ones hand but voices out a thousand words. Although, some people might not appreciate it.  Not everyone can have the eye of an artist. Just as we all have different taste in music and foods, we all have different tastes in art as well. But how do you take a simple picture and create it into something well worth everyone’s praise? Turn your photos to art.

In choosing your photo, you need to have the correct choice within the selection between the different methods that the visual arts itself can offer you. Making the correct choice in order for your picture to come to life and allowing the brush or the pen to embody your photograph would turn it into a breathtaking sight of beauty with a classical twist.

We have first and for most, the Coloured Pencil Method. With the coloured pencil method, you have a different variety and a wide choice of colours giving your photo a classy yet fun effect with its correct shades and strokes. The coloured pencil method is beautiful with its dazzling array of hues. This technique is most charming and goes well with photos of children or maybe, a soft photograph of a person whose face contains soft or loving emotions. Dramatic in its own way, the coloured pencil method can give either a very strong depiction or presence of your photo or a very soft and gentle voice calling out.

Pencil Sketch is also known as free hand drawing. A sketch itself is simple with a single ‘black’ colour to it. Although to some, it is dull – pencil sketches are also beautiful and refreshing to the human eye. Just like any other form or technique in visual arts, Pencil Sketches are also very dramatic in their own way. With just one simple and plain colour as some might say, it has different tones and shades. Depending on the volume and heaviness of the strokes and sharpness of the lines, a sketched or drawn portrait can give off its own story and essence as demanding as any other technique. As simple as it is, it is perfect for people who love simplicity over fanciness. Pencil sketches have little colour to them as mentioned earlier, but this is comes to an advantage because it can never be overdone.

Oil painting is one of the most dramatic and most loved, yet the most complicated medium in the branch of visual arts. The method of oil painting itself, starts off with the artist drawing a sketch of his/her subject on the canvas. The process of oil painting takes time, its procedure as delicate as it is beautiful to the human eye. Oil paint over oil paint and the process of allowing that layer of paint dry as much as to avoid it from peeling off in a short amount of time. Some people might think that oil painting is easy; it isn’t what it appears to be. With its complicated yet enchanting mix of shades with the help of different types of paintbrushes, palette knives and even rags and art conservators will never consider a single oil painting dry until it reaches its 60 to 80 year old mark.

But as complex as it sounds, if you wish to turn any of your photos to art – oil panting bends and goes along very well with any type of photograph. Unlike some of the methods, this method itself does not demand too much and is flexible with any type of photo – be it a simple portrait photo, or even a family photo. Something bright perhaps or something dark, oil painting is perfect for any kind of snapshot, or the kind of message it gives. It is a thing of beauty given during the 5th century and its splendour never grows old. In fact, the older the photo – the more exquisite it becomes.

The last Method that you should consider in the choice of creating any of your photos to art is, the mild yet striking method known as Watercolour. Known as watercolour in the United States and Aquarelle in French – Watercolour is a painting method whose customary support is paper, fabric and of course canvas as well as wood, leather and vellum. This method is known to give off a soft and luminous effect and in east china – watercolour painting is known as scroll or brush painting with ink as its paint. The method of Watercolour is extremely old and it gives the most classic effect of all the methods you should consider using if you want to turn your photos into art.

With watercolour, you can choose simple scenes, perhaps a photograph of you and someone special walking in the beach, children playing under the falling autumn leaves or maybe a candid photo of yourself staring into space under the drifting flakes of the cold winter. It’s perfect shades and the technique is great for landscapes as your major subject in the photo.

You have a choice with which method you would want to use, and which one you think is best for your photograph. In turning your photographs into art, you can do this the old-fashioned way or use today’s technology. You can have an artist paint or create this piece of art for you, but this would cost you. If you’re looking for ways in making your photo into art but do not wish to spend too much, can edit your photographs through the internet or other picture editing programs, often free of charge.

Transform your favoured photography to canvas prints

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