"Wapping", Day 4

Today I worked on getting rid of all the white canvas I hadn't covered before. I reduced the size of the central man's head. I'm trying to keep things simple and get the large areas of darks, lights, and colors correct.

"Wapping", Day 3

I only had three hours at the NGA today, so I didn't get too much done. Adjusted the placement of the vertical dark bar on the right (moved it to the right about an inch.) Roughed in the faces and a few boats just behind the man's shoulder. I still didn't get all the white canvas covered. This painting is so complex, it's going to take me quite a while, I want to be patient. I took a few detail pictures so you can see how Whistler applied the paint in a very abstract manner.

This is in the upper right corner

This is in the upper left corner - look at all the little people in the rigging (I can't see them from where I stand to copy) and Whistler's signature logo in the corner.

in the middle (click the photos for a larger view.)

Chinese copyists

For the past two weeks, painters from China have been copying at the NGA. I went down there yesterday to see what they were up to.

I was particularly fascinated with the one who was copying the El Greco. His paint was thick and bold, and his style was loose and energetic. I'll have to try that, and loosen up and use more paint!

I'll be back at the Gallery next Wednesday to continue with the Whistler.

"Wapping", Day 2

A little progress, but it doesn't feel like I've done very much. Still some untouched areas of white canvas. I won't be able to work on it again for a couple of weeks. Six painters from China are copying for the next two weeks, so none of us are allowed to copy while they're there. I'm planning on going in to see what they're doing, though.

"Wapping" by James McNeill Whistler, Day 1

At the top is the Whistler painting on the wall. I went in with a blank canvas, and my goal for today was just to get it drawn accurately. I struggled! My stretched canvas was not the exact proportions as the Whistler. Mine has to be at least 2" smaller than the original. The Whistler is 28 3/8 x 40 1/16 in. In order to maintain the correct proportions, my canvas should have been 25"x 35 5/16". But stretcher bars only come in even inches, so I stretched it 25"x36". Not much of a difference, but enough to create some distortion. I spent the morning measuring and measuring (using my brush at arm's length.) I was making myself crazy, so I took a break for lunch, and when I got back, I just started drawing the image, checking the measurements a little as I went. I saw that Whistler had divided his composition up very carefully. The height of the painting is the same as the distance between the left side and the dark vertical. I found other interesting divisions of the picture plane as I went. I feel pretty good about the drawing. I started putting some color in, and I'm aware that they are not correct yet, but it's a start. Next week I can work harder on the colors. This is going to be fun!

"The Biglin Brothers Racing", day 5

All done! I repainted the sky, to give it more depth. I made the sky lighter and yellower toward the tree line. I also worked on the trees and on the boats on the left. A little on the water. In a couple of weeks I will start my next copy, "Wapping" by Whistler.

"Wapping" by James McNeil Whistler, my next copy. Will I be sorry?

"The Biglin Brothers Racing", day 4

I think just one day to go. I repainted every part except for the sky.

Biglin Brothers Racing, Day 3

Day 3, on the easel. Not the greatest, with the shadow of the easel, but oh well. I figure maybe one more day and I'll call it done. I need to work on the figures and the water. I've really brightened up the colors, because I figure the original is pretty dirty. I can't imagine a sunny day being as dingy and dark as the original looks. It's due to go on tour in July, and I'm sure they'll clean it first. I look forward to seeing it without the grime. In the meantime, I'm painting my copy as if it was a sunny day. Click on the photo for a larger view.

"Biglin Brothers Racing" Day 2

Here is how it looked when I stopped for lunch...

... and at the end of the day. I'm pretty happy with how this copy is coming along. The original is very dark (needs cleaning), but the longer I look at it, the more I can see.

"The Biglin Brothers Racing" by Thomas Eakins, day 1

After a hiatus of almost a year, I went back to the National Gallery today to start a new copy. (Hearing that inactive copyists were going to have their lockers cleaned out and their supplies discarded was what lit the fire under me.) I chose to copy "The Biglin Brothers Racing" by Thomas Eakins, for a few reasons. One, all the Impressionist galleries are closed for renovation. Two, Eakins was a Philadelphia painter, and this scene took place on the Schuylkill River. Having gone to college in Philly, I liked the subject matter. Three, it's a beautiful painting! (This is a photo of the original on the wall.)

I had a printout of the painting from the web site, and I folded the picture to find the centers. I discovered that the two rowers fit into a rectangle whose top is the horizontal center of the painting, bottom is halfway from the center to the bottom, and sides are the center third of the painting. Very cool!

I found the centers and thirds of my blank canvas, and carefully sketched the major elements of the painting with burnt sienna. (I could have gotten this far at home, but I much prefer starting it in front of the real painting.)

This is how far I got by mid-day. I toned the canvas with burnt sienna, except for the sky. You can see how dark the original painting on the wall is. I think it needs cleaning, it seems very dirty.

This is how it looked at the end of Day 1. It was good to get back to copying, I really love being there for the whole day, immersed in a painting.