I decided that today was going to be my last day on this copy. Because of my work schedule and the way federal holidays have fallen on my copying days (every other Friday), it's taken me several months to get to this point - day 7 on this painting.
Even though I see things wrong with parts of the drawing (some books are the wrong proportions) and areas of color and value (my copy seems darker/lighter/different, etc...), I just said to myself, Oh Well, and went ahead and put in as much detail as I could (nails, dirt, bits of torn paper and labels) and that's it for this copy! I'm ready to move on.
(click the images for a larger view)
I did have fun painting this! I guess I'm a realist at heart. And it was fun painting the sorts of books that I see in the donation bin at the library on a daily basis!
My next copy is going to be "The Mill in Winter", by Edward Willis Redfield. It was recently acquired when the National Gallery absorbed the Corcoran's collection.
This is a large painting, 50"x56", and Redfield painted it on site in one day! I'm going to stretch a 32"x36" canvas, which is the same proportions, but comes in at an acceptable size (the National Gallery doesn't allow your copy to be more than 40" without special permission.) It's fortunate that the dimensions came out to an even size that isn't too small.
This wintry picture feels fitting for this time of year. I have painted outdoors in winter a couple of times (once when it was 15 degrees with a 20-mile-per-hour wind!), and it's a real challenge! I'll be thinking of that while I am copying this painting, warm and cozy in the National Gallery. I hope to start it in four weeks. See you then.
