I am copying "Woman with a Parasol" by Claude Monet at the National Gallery of Art. Monet painted his wife and son on a family outing. It is thought that he completed the painting in one sitting and the portrayal was meant to be a casual setting rather than a formal portrait.
I, on the other hand, have been working on copying this piece for a month now and this is how far I have gotten. I worked on the sky quite a bit today and while painting "quell horror" I noticed the bottom of the dress was not close enough to the boy! So I worked on that too...reworking the skirt folds and swirls.
The things I am really working on with this piece are the palette and brushstrokes. Monet's palette is quite different for me. I long for yellow ochre...but I am getting used to his colors and getting better at mixing to get what I need. Such a good exercise for me. The other big challenge is trying to capture the spontaneity of his strokes. They seem to be haphazardly splashed on the canvas though I am sure more thought was given to their placement.
I must say the National Gallery was crowded in spite of our frigid spring weather. I had MANY more people ask me questions than ever before. Asking if they could take pictures and about the copyist program. I really had to concentrate to get anything done. One little girl asked me how many of the paintings on the wall I had done. I had to confess that I did none of the ones currently hanging at the gallery. >sigh< There were many people walking by quietly whispering "good job" which is nice. Once lady told me "at least you got the umbrella right"...not sure how to take that. All in all it was a great day and I am pleased with my progress.
I admire that you can concentrate at all in such a public place. The painting is already stunning.
ReplyDeleteWow! How lucky that you are allowed to do this! I'm sure the National Gallery in London would laugh me out of the building if I asked to do the same! Probably just as well because the idea of painting in public fills me with horror, lol! This is great! am looking forward to seeing the final result :0)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see your next post, Maria....this is coming along so beautifully.. such a wonderful practice and yes, you should be very pleased with your progress.
ReplyDeleteSo proud of you - and I love the comment about 'getting the umbrella right'… those types of ambiguous comments leave us endlessly reeling about what they REALLY meant. You're doing great. xoxo
ReplyDeleteI guess what you're saying is that you're not ready to forge Monet's paintings yet! ;) Honestly, what you have done so far is beautiful. I remember seeing people at the National Gallery sitting and painting and often thought how amazing they were to be able to do that with so many people around. I also didn't realize how long it takes to copy a painting. I thought they did it in a day! Haha! I am in awe of your talent, Maria.
ReplyDeleteOh Maria...this is going to be stunning. You are so brave. I admire you and your hard work.
ReplyDeleteThumbs up! It's looking good …. especially the umbrella! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others as to your courage to paint in such a public place on such a difficult piece. Would I do this? NEVER. To be honest, I would be totality embarrassed by my inability to copy so well.
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