"Take Your Choice", day 6

What with my full-time work schedule, a trip to Chicago, and a couple of Fridays that fell on non-copying days (Veterans Day and the day after Thangsgiving), I haven't been able to make it back to the National Gallery in over two months. I was thinking today might be my last day on this copy, but I didn't get very far, so I'll have to continue it a little longer.

It was a brisk walk from the train station to the National Gallery in the cold morning of a beautiful day in DC

I worked from 10:30 to 12:30, putting in some important details, such as the letters on the paper on the front of the box, and adjusting the values and colors around the painting. I also put in the details on the cover of the orange book.

After lunch, I decided I was tired and just cleaned up. I will continue putting in details next Friday. I am not interested in making an exact copy, and once it gets to be burdensome, I want to stop. I'm pretty satisfied with it as is. People often tell me "I like yours better!" because mine is brighter and more modern looking (also because people are nice!) That's because I'm not really "making a copy", I'm "copying". I enjoy the process of copying in the same way as I enjoy the process of painting landscapes and still lifes from life. I'm not making an exact duplicate, but just doing the best I can, based on my own personal and limited perception of what I am looking at, and my ability to translate that perception into a painted image.

Here's a picture I took just before leaving the National Gallery - peeking out a window toward the East Wing. Every little detail of these buildings is so striking and beautiful.

One more photo of the Capitol on my way to the train - still a bright, sunny, breezy, cold day. There's nothing to compare to the National Mall with all of its FREE museums! I am so lucky to have a great reason to come down here every couple of weeks!