Painting sculptures

There's a problem with painting sculptures.

Actually, the problem is related to shooting them--we haven't even gotten close to painting one yet. And the problem is this:



Without a tripod I can't hold my camera still enough to take a sharp picture. Yet, when I use the flash (the obvious solution), it casts the statue in an unnatural, unflattering light. This, of course, would be that:



So I'm flummoxed, to a degree. Nonetheless, check out this bas-relief of the Virgin Mary. Whoa--that's a trip. Make a note of the slightly stretched, somewhat surreal natue of the rendition. Part of it is the camera angle, but part of it is built in.



The irony, I suppose, is that one could legitimately ask Why, given the gestural nature of your work, do you need a sharp image from which to start?

Fair question. The only answer is that you spend a lot of time looking at the damned picture while you do the painting, and it is a hardship to look at a blurry image.