February 25, 2008

"Woman with a Parasol" after Claude Monet

"Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son" by Claude Monet

This is one of my very favorite paintings in the museum, and Monet is one of my very favorite artists. This painting is either going to be very easy or very challenging.

Day 1: I spent today measuring and sketching the composition on my blank canvas, after first toning the canvas a light greyish beige. If you look closely at the original, you see that Monet left some blank canvas showing, and this beigey color is what is there. The white of the clouds is very obvious on top of this raw canvas color.

The strange thing about copying this painting is that Monet did it in one quick session, but I have to plan it very carefully. I did my careful planning and plotting out the drawing today, but next time I'm going to jump in with lots of paint and color. It's either going to be done very quickly, or I'm going to have to wipe it down and try again.

One thing I noticed today on looking at the painting closely, I believe that Monet may have added the figure of the little boy later. The sky seems to have been painted first, behind the boy, because I could see the brushstrokes of the sky under him, as if he had been added after the sky was dry.

Day 2, when I broke for lunch.

Day 2, end of the day.
Day 3: I've done all I can do, so I'm done.