We’d like to thank Eli Vega for this month’s cover art. His imaginative rendition of Henry Tanner’s “Banjo Lesson” reminds us to think outside the box to find inspiration, creativity and humor in all aspects of life. Welcome to “The Springs Magazine” family, Eli. We look forward to seeing your completed project!
“Erin the Riveter” – Eli Vega.
“Whistler’s Mother” – James McNeill.
About Eli… Eli Vega majored in art for three years at Texas Tech University. During those years of art exploration, he learned about the masters of the art world. So, he is very familiar with famous artists and famous paintings.
One of Vega’s latest projects is the creation of 40 of his photographic renditions of famous paintings, which fall into three categories. Some will look very similar to the original paintings. Some will be a mixture of “old” and “new,” meaning some aspects of the photo will have hints of the original painting, while some aspects will be modern day. And some will simply be modern-day renditions.
Vega teaches Beginning Digital Photography, Intermediate Digital Photography, and Right Brain Photography, which piggy-backs on his book by the same name. He also offers 1-on-1 and small group field lessons. He also does photographic work for the local hospitality, real estate, and restaurant industries.
Last October, Vega saw The Avenue restaurant in Hot Springs from across the street and photographed it at night. He explains that the scene reminded him of the famous painting by Edward Hopper, Nighthawks. With that in mind, he contacted the owners of the Waters Hotel and asked permission to create his own rendition of that famous painting. He pulled together three people he knew and asked them to be his models.
Once he completes his 40 renditions of famous paintings (he has completed 15 already), he plans to have a public slide show about the project, write and publish a table top book about it, and then begin plans for a traveling art show in galleries throughout Arkansas and other states.
Vega considers himself very lucky in that he has great support for his project from several folks in Hot Springs, including City Manager, Bill Burrough, the Director of Business Development at the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, Shannon LaDuke, city board director Becca Clark, the Hot Springs Hat Shop, Hot Springy Dingy costume shop, and the Pocket Theatre.
So, stay tuned for future updates on Vega’s RFP project—Renditions of Famous Paintings. Until then, here are just a couple of examples of his completed works. Enjoy! For more information, email Vega at vegaphotoart@gmail.com, or visit www.eliveganet.
