Day 2, "Lady Caroline Howard, 1778", by Sir Joshua Reynolds

Yesterday I got off to a very late start, but I jumped right in to paint in the face, which I didn't get to last week. I also spent a lot of time repainting the black cape, because I had gotten the color of the light areas too red. Now they're too blue. I guess next time I'll try to get it right with a more neutral gray, that still appears bluish or reddish in different areas. It's very tricky! I also made a first pass on the hat.

All in all, I painted for a pretty short time yesterday, and I'm not really happy with what I did. The head seems too small, the arm too long, the hand too big. Next week I'll try to get in earlier and fix everything again.

New Copy, "Lady Caroline Howard, 1778", by Sir Joshua Reynolds

Today was Day 1 of my copy of "Lady Caroline Howard, 1778" by Sir Joshua Reynolds. I had walked around the museum searching for potential paintings to copy, and this one was on my list. This intelligent-looking seven-year-old girl in her very fancy clothes, examining a rose bush under a dramatic sky, appealed to me. I also liked where the painting was hanging, right in the middle of a wall with a large open space that ended at the side of the couches that were in the middle of the room - I could set up a good distance away, have a good view of the whole painting, and not be in anybody's way.

This is the original painting:

At 56 5/16 x 44 1/2 in., it's a large painting. We are only allowed up to 40" on the larger side. I happened to have a canvas already stretched and ready that measured 36" x 21" and that's close enough to the right proportions, so I used that.

I have to admit that I was not familiar with Sir Joshua Reynolds, so I read up on him a little bit. This is from the description of the painting on the NGA's website: 

"Reynolds deliberately imposed on his compositions certain formal artistic qualities that would give them the solidity and nobility of Greek, Roman, and Renaissance art. He also liked to suggest associations in his portraits that elevate them to some level beyond the merely descriptive. Roses are symbolically related to Venus and the Three Graces, and Reynolds may well have intended to allude to their attributes, Chastity, Beauty, and Love, as ideals to which Lady Caroline should aspire." Reynolds was not formally trained, but apprenticed to Thomas Hudson, the most fashionable portraitist of the day, according to the NGA's website. If you're interested, you can read more of Reynolds' biography here.

I got right to work putting some paint down, trying to get the right value and color temperature, mainly trying to cover all the white so I would have something to work against. I had sketched the figure and other elements onto the canvas at home in charcoal, to save time in the museum. I painted for about an hour before I went to lunch (I had gotten in late today), and this is as far as I got:

After lunch, I continued to put colors down. I tried to match the colors I saw, but I always tend to go too bright and plan on neutralizing them more in later passes. The important thing for me is to cover the white, then I can start to make adjustments.

Here is the painting at the end of the day. I didn't put the face or hands in yet, partly because I ran out of red paint, and it was almost time to leave. I've stopped bringing in tubes of paint, since I have to carry it all in a backpack and it's pretty heavy. So I stole a genius idea from other copyists and squeezed my colors out into a "paint garage" which I keep in the freezer between sessions. Next time I'll bring more red paint.

I know that the white dress needs to be much lighter, and I think the black jacket and surrounding landscape should be darker - adjustments I will make next time. I know there's too much blue in my sky, but I think that's what I'm seeing underneath the gray clouds. And of course I'll start the next session by painting in the face, hat, and hands. When I repaint the sky, I'll try to paint in that bit of a rainbow that's visible just to the right of the rose bush. I'm pretty happy with the beginning of this copy and look forward to next time.

Click the images for a larger view

Day 5 and final, "Madame David" by Jacques Louis David

I decided that today would be the last day I would work on this copy. I'm not completely satisfied with my painting, but it's close enough, I learned a lot, and I just felt like being done. So I basically put little details in like the highlights on the eyes and some more feathers in the hat, and defined the curls of her hair. I was finished before lunch. Lots of museum visitors told me how much they liked it, and many of them asked me what I do with my copies when I'm done with them. I told them they basically pile up in my house! I've been copying since 2000, on and off, and I've done dozens of copies, having only sold two, which were both commissions. I'm copying because it's fun and a great way to learn. If a copy comes out especially good, I'll frame it and hang it on the wall, but otherwise they get stacked in my storage room.

Here is how it came out (pardon the shadow from the easel.) I feel like my figure looks a little bit slumped and more tired than the woman in David's painting, but it's very subtle.

I turned in my permit and got permission for my next copy, which will be "Lady Caroline Howard" by Sir Joshua Reynolds. I chose it because it's a figure in a landscape, which is an interest of mine, and it has more of that shiny cloth that I like painting. I hope to get a new canvas stretched in time to start on it next Thursday.

Click the images for a larger view

Day 4, Copy of "Madame David" by Jacques-Louis David

I've started catching an earlier express bus in to DC, because the last bus of the morning, at 8:35, often doesn't show. So I'm now getting the 8:15, which takes the express lanes and gets me close to the National Gallery (6 blocks away) in about 35 minutes. (By contrast, I used to take the Metro, which after a 25-minute drive to the nearest station takes 45 minutes to get there.) The gallery doesn't open until 10, so I walked to a coffee shop and enjoyed a cup of coffee before walking to the NGA. This morning was partly sunny and beautiful after many days of rain. I took this picture from the bus as we crossed the Potomac from Virginia. Memorial Bridge is in the distance and the Lincoln Memorial is visible on the left. Washington is such a beautiful city, and that's one of the things I really enjoy about going in to copy every week.

The cherry blossoms are over, but the bleachers from the festival remain along Constitution Avenue.

After my coffee, I arrived at the NGA just in time for the doors to open. This brave squirrel really wanted me to give him a treat.

After getting my permit renewed, which we must do every month, I got to work right away on Madame David. I worked steadily for about 2 1/2 hours on her face, hat, and parts of her dress. There was still something wrong with the mouth, but it was time for lunch.

After a shorter than usual lunch with my copyist buddies, I spent some time working on her mouth, hands and right arm. We don't have to stop copying until 4:00, but by 3:15 I suddenly realized I was very tired and it was time to stop. Here is how the painting looked at the end of the day. 

I still have a ways to go. I don't have her expression quite right. To me, the expression on her face in David's painting is much more animated than I've managed to get. When I look at the original, I see David's wife, feeling a little self-conscious (you can see the tension in the muscles below her mouth as she tries to maintain a pleasant expression,) but she looks as though she's really tickled to be posing for her husband, a famous portrait painter, whom she loves. I don't know if I'll be able to catch that - I think I need to make her eyes smile more - but it's fun to try. I'd like to get into painting portraits, and copying from a master like David is a great way to learn and practice. Now I just have to find somebody willing to sit for me!

Click the images for a larger view, and feel free to leave a comment below

Day 3, "Madame David" by Jacques-Louis David

 Yesterday was my third day copying "Madame David" by Jacques-Louis David. The museum was much more crowded than it has been because of the convergence of Spring Break, the cherry blossoms, and a rainy day (although it was more threatening than raining). 

I set aside my fear and got to work on the face right away. I paid attention to the shadow side of the face and the bluish skin tones around the mouth and eyes. I know I'll repaint the face again, continuing to refine things. I think I have the features a little small. Here is how the painting looked when I broke for lunch:

After lunch, I got to work on the hands, and also paid attention to the feathery hat. I'm not going to put the light feathers on the hat until a later time. I also repainted the upper right background because the original looks a little lighter and cooler. Here is how the painting looked at the end of the day:

Visitors told me that I have a good likeness, but I still think I have a ways to go. I'm learning a lot about the subtle changes in color that reflect the underlying structures of the face and hands. I'm pretty happy with how the skin of her chest looks. Next time I'll continue to work of the hands, face, hat and dress. I may not do much more to the red fabric around her arms, because it looks OK. I think the mouth needs the most work. See you next time!

Click the images for a larger view, and feel free to comment below

Day 2, "Madame David" by Jacques-Louis David

I missed going to the NGA last week, so today was the second day for this copy. I had intended to go slowly, because I read that David built his paintings up with many thin layers. But I just couldn't do it, I am a very direct, wet-into-wet, fast painter.

I got started today by repainting the entire dark background, and I worked on the red velvet fabric that is wrapped around her arms. I'm using colors I don't normally use, because I'm trying to use colors that David used. So I'm painting with colors like Transparent Brown Oxide, Van Dyke Brown, and Vermillion. Vermillion is a very bright, orangey red, so I'm also using Quinacridone Red, which is a cool red. I'm glad I had both, because they worked together well in painting that red velvet. I also added a little Cobalt Blue and white (Lead White Replacement) to the red. I got all that done, at least the first pass, and then it was time for lunch. Here is how it looked at the end of the morning:

You can see, on the shelf of the easel, how I am bringing my paints to the NGA now. Instead of bringing lots of heavy tubes of paint, I bought a couple of paint storage containers made by a company called "Box N Paint" (www.boxnpaint.com) You squeeze the paint into the compartments, add some drops of clove oil to the felt pads that are glued inside the lid, and close up the box - the wet paint stays workable for a very long time. (Click the picture for a larger view.)

After a nice lunch with my fellow copyists, I worked on the satin dress. My colors still look much cooler than the original - I know I'll be repainting the dress again. But at least I think I got the structure of the folds in about the right places. I also painted the skin tone on her chest and upper arms.

I did not touch the face or hands - I'm procrastinating on those, since they are so scary to me. Next time, I'll have to start working on them. Here is how the painting looked at the end of the day:

Your comments are welcome! 

Click the images for a larger view

New Copy, Day 1, "Madame David" by Jacques-Louis David

Yesterday, I returned to the National Gallery to start my new copy. I have been looking at this painting, "Madame David", by Jacques-Louis David (pronounced DAVEED), for many years, wondering if I could dare to try to copy it. I'm finally doing it! It is one of the most beautiful portraits I have ever seen. I've done a little bit of research into David, his color palette, and his painting technique, to try to get myself psyched up and ready for this. Here is a photo of the original painting, from the National Gallery's website:

David's biography is on the NGA website, so if you're interested, you can read it here.

As per the NGA's rules, I stretched a canvas a little more than 2 inches smaller than the original, making sure it was the same proportions (height x width) as the original. I printed out the photo of the original painting and gridded it out into quarters and marked the diagonals, and did the same for my canvas. This was to ensure that in my copy, the drawing would be as accurate as possible, and to save myself time in the museum that would otherwise be spent painstakingly measuring and remeasuring (I've done this with past copies, standing with my arm extended and sighting along it to measure all the elements. I know how to do that, but wanted to save myself the time and effort.) As a result of using this shortcut, I was able to get the basics of the painting sketched onto my canvas in a relatively short period of time. I used light gray paint. One very interesting thing I discovered is that David placed the figure in such a way that the exact center of the canvas is at the notch of her collarbones. Her face and figure are just slightly off center, with the figure a little more turned away and the head very slightly turned back toward us, almost, but not quite, straight on. The tip of her thumb just touches the center line.

David built his paintings up with many thin layers, glazing over underpaintings that first established the values. This is why his paintings remain in very good condition with little cracking. I thought I was going to do the same with this copy, painting a value underpainting in shades of gray, but I realized that I'm really not interested in doing that. This is not the way I paint in real life. My own paintings are mostly done very directly, mixing the colors I see and applying them all wet into wet. If I need to return to my paintings again, I'll often repaint an area completely rather than glaze over it. My copy won't look like David's for this reason, but I still hope to learn and improve my own figure and portrait painting by copying this. What I am doing is using a similar limited palette as I read that David used: Naples Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Vermillion, Cobalt Blue, Ivory Black, and Flake White (Gamblin's Flake White Replacement, which isn't lead.) I'm also using Transparent Brown Oxide.

I decided to start by blocking in the dark background, and I started working on the white satin of her dress. I was afraid to start with the face! After a couple of hours of painting, it was time for lunch. Here is my copy at this point:

After lunch, I worked on the satin dress some more, but I could immediately see that the whites need to be put in last. The satin is very interesting, with warm darks and cool middle values. I started working on the face and other areas of skin, fighting my fear. I mixed Naples Yellow, Vermillion and White, and although my colors are darker, I think I got the hues pretty well. I painted around the nose and indicated where the eyes will be. Bluish gray in the shadow areas. I'll be repainting all of this over again when I come back in future weeks. I didn't have time to get to the red of her shawl. I'm not sure if Vermillion is the right color for this, and may have to expand my palette. Here is the painting at the end of the day:

This was further than I thought I'd get in the first day. I tend to be impatient and paint very quickly, but I will try to slow down and do this right. Please leave me a comment below!

Click on the images for a larger view.

Day 3 and Final, copy after "Before the Ballet" by Edgar Degas

It's been a few weeks since I was last at the National Gallery, but I finally made it back today to finish my copy of "Before the Ballet" by Edgar Degas. I didn't feel like I had much left to do, and set to work to see if I could finish by lunch. And I did!

The first thing I did was adjust the color of the floor. I had made it too dark and too red, which was what I thought was the underpainting. On closer inspection of the original, I could see that Degas had painted a thin film of a light, cool color over the whole floor. So I mixed up a light value of Viridian green with some Alizarin Permanent to tone it down, and white. I lightly scumbled it over the floor using a pretty dry brush. And it worked to lighten and neutralize the red of the floor! Then I saw that Degas had put more Viridian over top of the light film. I really couldn't see the details of the painting that well from where I was standing - there was a doorway right beside the painting that I couldn't block, so I was standing about 8 feet away. I kept putting my brushes down and walking up to take a closer look. I soon began to feel that Degas painted this piece with just a few colors - probably Alizarin, Viridian, Yellow Ochre, maybe Burnt Umber, and white. 

So I kept noodling away, working on the floor, and scrubbing a lighter cool over the walls. Then I finally re-tackled the two larger figures on the right. I went over their tutus, defined their hair and faces and arms and legs and feet. I forced myself to resolve little areas I hadn't dealt with yet. I finally felt like I was done, so I went to lunch.

This was a fun painting to copy, with the lively gestures of all the dancers. One of my fellow copyists remarked that Degas' compositions were always very different and exciting. She's right, look at Degas' work and you'll see how innovative he was.

Now it's on to my next copy. They're closing off the Impressionist quadrant of the museum to do renovations, so I wandered around the American, English, and older French galleries across the hall. I chose three that I'd like to copy and requested them from the Registrar. When I find out which one they approve, I'll stretch a canvas to the same proportions (but at least two inches smaller or larger as they require.) I'm taking next week off to give myself time to prepare the canvas, so hopefully I'll be back in two weeks with the first installment of my next copy.

Click the pictures for a larger view

Day 2, Copy after "Before the Ballet" by Edgar Degas

 I finally got back to the NGA to continue my copy of Degas' "Before the Ballet". I decided to start with the four little ballerinas in the upper left who are stretching at the barre. From where I was standing, I couldn't really see them clearly, but when I walked up to the painting and examined them, I saw that each one is facing in a different direction. Degas kept these figures very loose and gestural, with no detail. I saw that I had placed them a little too far to the left, so I shifted them towards the door. Here is a detail of them at that point:

I then started to paint the floor. I had laid in the color that I thought was underneath, but today I saw that it wasn't dark enough. I went over the floor with a darker red, and started to add the viridian green. At this point it was time for lunch.

After lunch, I continued painting the floor. I worked for about an hour, but then I realized I was pretty tired so I decided to save the rest for next time. I still need to address the walls, which have some light blue-green scumbled on them, and touch up the two large figures. I'll probably repaint the floor again. Next time!

Click on the pictures for a larger view