Slave to reality no more

One of the biggest hurdles in painting(  for me) has been to create a sense of familiarity or recognition in a subject without being a slave to the original image, be it a photo, real life or whatever.
I have often ask friends if I may use  their photographs and use them a a jumping off point or as inspiration for a painting only to have them say " But you left the ......out" or " the colours are different".

As captain of my own ship I now cast off from reality......I want to paint how the scene FEELS.

20x 24 cm
oil on hardboard
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ps. I love this painting.