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:
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