“Feeling Blue” (2024). Louis Cooper. Oil on canvas. 24″x24″ Another portrait of Susan, composed using the assistance of Midjourney generative AI and Insight FaceSwap to substitute Susan’s features.
“Mikko holding Susan” (2024). Louis Cooper. Oil on canvas. 24″x24″ Generative AI image using Midjourney with prompt: /imagine: a portrait of a mature Dutch woman with thick blond hair in 19th century dress, holding a bobcat, oil painting, 19th century american folk art, detailed facial features, symmetrical eyes –chaos 25 –ar 4:5 Then face-swapped in Susan’s face using InsightFace. Replaced the AI generated cat...
I modeled this portrait after one created by Mary-Jane Ansell, which won her a BP Portrait Award. Swapped Susan’s face, into the original, and painted a master copy in a less photo-realistic style, emphasizing expressive brushwork and more chiaroscuro effects. Here are the original and my version side by side. I admire Ansell’s composition, lighting and patient attention to detail. I’ll need to work on that. I paint very quickly and...
Inspired by the portrait “Lotti” by Louis Smith. I borrowed his pose and sitter’s costume and swapped in Susan’s face. This worked nicely because of the similar features of Lotti and Susan. Susan much more beautiful of course. Painted Alla Prima. “Dreamer” (2024). Louis Cooper. Oil on wood panel. 24″x18″
A portrait of my sister Elisabeth. She works in the vegetable garden and healing plant garden at Camphill Village, Copake, NY. Her community also raises cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, etc…. She is a soulful one and very much in touch with nature. Hands in the Earth. But she hates to be called a Farmer. “I am not a Farmer! I am a Lover and a Healer!” “I am Not a Farmer” (2024). Louis Cooper. Oil on canvas....
A portrait of Susan wearing an oriental robe. She has been teaching herself Mandarin Chinese, which led to the title for this portrait. In addition to continuing to use Generative AI to assist with painting composition, I have been trying to combine realism with a more impressionistic rendering of clothing and backgrounds. Homage to John Singer Sargent. “Wo Yao Hanbaobao” (2024). Louis Cooper. Oil on canvas. 20″x16″
Continuing to experiment with Generative AI and Face Swapping as a means of generating inspiration for paintings. Note the lace head-covering Susan is wearing. Something inspired by a Rubens? “Spacesuit” (2024). Louis Cooper. Oil on canvas. 24″x24″
A wedding gift for my nephew Owen and his fiancée Dora. Generative AI used to compose the scene with the prompt: “an oil painting portrait of a happy couple in the style of John Singer Sargent, 19th century dress, background reminiscent of a gilded age mansion, detailed facial expressions, symmetrical eyes no moustache –v 6.0” Then swapped in the facial features of each of them to create my model. “Dora and Owen” (2024)....
Continuing to experiment with Generative AI to compose painting ideas using Midjourney. This time used a number of images instead of words as prompts. Photographs of the lilies in Lily Pond which abuts our home in the Berkshires, combined with photographs of Susan. “Lily Pond” (2024). Louis Cooper. Oil on canvas. 24″x36″
Continuing to experiment with Generative AI to compose painting ideas using Midjourney. In this case my prompt was: “A 19th century clean-shaven Norwegian man with short hair dressed in a sailor’s smock, oil painting, self-portrait, in the style of Caravaggio, intense chiaroscuro, mysterious lighting, detailed face, symmetrical eyes –no beard, –chaos 25 –ar 4:5” “Self Portrait as a Seaman” (2024). Louis Cooper....
“Contessa Zu” (2012). Louis Cooper. Oil on Canvas. 20″ x 16″. inspired by the portrait by Boticelli “Simonetta Vespucci” (1485). Sandro Botticelli. Oil