Where do my paintings come from? Some artist are gifted with incredible imagination but honestly I have always been more comfortable working from reality. One of the most influential people in my life was my AP studio art teacher. She not only taught us techniques; but also, the creative process. Her rule was that if you were going to work directly from a photo, it had to be YOUR photo. Else you needed direct permission from the photographer to use their work.
I have never been able to move away from the philosophy because it makes sense. If a photo is art, directly copying the photo is plagiarism. No better than copying and pasting from wiki for an essay. As a result I take a ton of photos, and my paintings are based off of my life. When taking photos I often think “beautiful photos are for printing, mediocre photos make for great paintings” ^_^.
Of course there are grey zones with this philosophy as with any. If you modify the content, as with a collage you make a photo your own. I would love to hear other thoughts on the subject!