Day 5, copy after "The Concert" by Gerrit van Honthorst

Yesterday was my copying day, and it was also my last day of copying until September! I don't want to go into DC during the summer heat, and it's going to be extra crazy and crowded near the National Gallery because of the 250th anniversary of the US and all of the different celebrations taking place. I'll stay away until September.

So since yesterday was going to be the last I would see of this copy for a few months, I focused on developing what may be the most important part of the composition - the man sitting with his back to the viewer, in the lower left foreground of the painting.

This man, probably the group's leader, is a dark silhouette compared to the brilliantly lit group on the far side of the table. He points to something on the page with his bow - he plays the cello, the neck of which he holds in his left hand. I spent the whole day working on him - the black fabric that drapes around his figure is a complex marvel of folds. I used my darkest colors - Ultramarine Blue, Dioxizine Purple, Quinacridone Violet (aren't these names wonderful?) to mix black, and then I lightened it with different opaque colors for the lighter areas. I am not accurately matching the colors yet, but I'll make another try when I come around to him again. I also repainted and darkened his beautifully rich satin shirt. Such sumptuous clothes! The fabrics are very enjoyable to copy.

I also made a first pass on his hair and face, so striking in profile. Here is how the painting looked at the end of the day:

The gallery was crowded with visitors and I spoke with quite a few of them, so the time flew by. I forgot to take a picture in the gallery, and had to photograph my copy down in the locker room. If you'd like to see the original painting that I'm copying, you can look back at earlier blog posts, or click here to see the original on the National Gallery's website.

I put the photo of my copy next to the original painting on my computer, adjusted their sizes so they lined up, and took a screenshot. My copy is exactly half the size of the original, and the proportions are the same. Seeing them side by side like this is very helpful in spotting where I need to make adjustments. I'll look at this screenshot over the summer so I'll be ready to get to work the next time I'm there.

My copy will wait patiently in a rack in the Copyists' locker room until I return in September. Have a great summer!

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Day 4, copy after "The Concert" by Gerrit van Honthorst

I made it back to the National Gallery today to continue copying "The Concert" by Gerrit van Honthorst. All I really wanted to do today was get all the white canvas covered with a first pass, and I did manage to do that. I was also able to go back into a few areas and correct some of the values. There is so much more to do! I can see a lot of errors, and I'll try to make it look OK as much as I can, but as I've said before, I'm copying, not making a copy. This complex group of eight figures is so intricate that I won't even try to get everything exactly right. I hope to get close enough, and I think the main thing is going to be the light and shadow. 

Here is the painting at the end of the day:

This painting was heavily influenced by Caravaggio, with dramatic darks and lights. I started to darken the man with his back to us, but I'll need to work on that a lot more. I'll try to keep going as long as the weather stays cool, but this summer is going to be crazy in DC, so we'll see.

Walking to the train, I passed behind the National Archives building, and had to take a picture of this beautiful sculpture:

I usually take an express commuter bus home, but today I took the Metro. It takes longer, but it's much more comfortable and less miserable than a bus. Plus, I love to sketch people on the train! (Not as easy on a bus, because you're mainly looking at the backs of people's heads, and it's harder to hide what you're doing.)

I've been sketching people on trains since I was in art school in Philly in the 70s and took a train to class. The trick is not to let people see that you're drawing them, because that would creep them out. I'm very surreptitious about it. Normally people are looking at their phones or sleeping, but sometimes they raise their head and look my way. When that happens, I look down and wait a while before looking at them again. I haven't been caught yet (sometimes my seatmate will notice, but they usually don't say anything.) You have to be quick, because people move around with every stop, and they often just up and leave. The two men I drew in profile both left before I could get anything below the neck in, but it was enough. I love drawing people, and you just can't beat the train for free, unself-conscious models!

Thanks for reading! Click the images for a larger view