Painting As Interpretation, Not Transcription

I think painting should be a fresh, innovative creation of a scene, not an exact replica. Why is there supposedly so much skill in being able to repeat the information of an image with paint? For me the whole essence of a picture is just as appealing as the tiny details. I think as artists we should paint what WE individually see (and feel) when we're looking to copy from something or somewhere; not what we think we should be seeing or are 'expected' to see.