Rob's Rorqual Rendition

Rob Dunford, an amateur artist based in Reading in the United Kingdom, contacted me some time ago to ask if it would be OK to use my photos of humpback whales as reference materials for a painting.

Rob recently completed his painting, and sent me a nice photo:

Acrylic painting by Rob Dunford, based on Tony Wu humpback whale photographs
Acrylic painting by Rob Dunford,
based on some of my humpback whale photographs

It's sort of a composite of two photos I took: one in 2005 of a male and female humpback whale engaged in courtship; and the other of the first baby whale I photographed in the 2007 calving season in Tonga, which I nicknamed Hina Hina. (Amazing how I can remember each whale I've met, but can never recall where I left my keys, isn't it?)

Rob took this painting to the Reading Guild of Artists last month for comment, and apparently, they would like him to present it again to the Exhibiting Panel in August. He's also in discussion with a fine art gallery about the possibility of exhibiting this painting and creating more marine art.

Congratulations Rob!

I've written in the past about how uncool it is for people to paint replicas of photographs and try to pass it off as "original" work, but it can be different when people like Rob contact me in an open, honest manner.

We're in regular communication now, and I'm hoping to see more of Rob's work in the future.

Related posts:
Rant, Rave, Respect
Whale Painting