Original painting: "Daniel in the Lion's Den", by Peter Paul Rubens
Day 1. The original is 130" wide, and the maximum the museum allows for a copyist's canvas is 40". So my canvas is 27"x40", which is about the same proportions as the original. I know that Rubens painted on a toned surface, and I started on a white canvas. But I'm not reproducing his method here. I am mainly interested in the composition. The first day I concentrated on getting the elements all drawn on correctly. I stood across the room from the painting, since it is so large that that was the only way I could see the whole thing without distortion. I started with a blank canvas, and copied it by measuring by eye from where I stood.
Day 2. I got my basic colors in place.
Day 3. I only painted for two hours today. I worked on the background on the left, and started developing the individual lions.
Day 4. I worked a long time on the figure, although it doesn't really show it. I notice I'm progressing pretty slowly on this copy, which is good. Sorry these photos are out of focus - I try not to use the flash, and the lighting wasn't too good.
Day 5. I worked on the lions on the left. The anatomy of the lions is very apparent. I am interested in animal portraiture, which is one reason I chose this painting to copy. I had a most interesting day of talking with people - lots of interruptions, but nice ones.
Day 6. A very long time after Day 5, which was back in October. I stayed away through the holiday season. This day I worked on the two lions in the lower right, and a little on the yawning lion in the middle. I also put in the skull and some bones at the bottom. I'm a little bothered by the fact that my drawing is off; I'm finding that I have more negative space between the lions than there should be. But I'm not going to go in and redo the drawing - I just don't care enough about it.
Day 7. I worked mainly on the figure today, but also a little bit on the surrounding areas - the darks in the negative space, and the red cloth. If you look closely you will notice the original painting on the wall beyond my painting, and you may get a feeling for how large it is. I have found it difficult to get much detail into this "miniature" copy, even though it is 40 inches wide! I could stay on this painting for the foreseeable future, but I have decided to turn in my permit on this one and move on to the next. It is not finished, but I'm putting it on hold for now, and will probably come back to it at a future time. I have my next painting lined up, which will be Monet's "Woman with a Parasol". Watch this space for developments!
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