Today was my second day copying Manet's "Plum Brandy". I had thrown in the features on the face at the end of last week, and wasn't at all happy with it, so the first thing I did was paint over what I had. I shifted both eyes around and moved them up and down. The nice thing about oil paint is that it's so easy to change things. I'm still not entirely happy, but it's better than it was. Several people told me I have a good likeness. I've noticed a funny thing about the portrait by Manet - the eyes are lined up at an angle, but each eye seems to be horizontal and not at an angle. It's just a little wacky looking, which contributes to the young woman's tired and bemused expression. The nose and mouth are fun to paint. Not sure if I have them in the right place, I think they're a little low, but I can fix that next time.
I worked on the grille on the wall behind her, and on her dress. Also the marble tabletop. I tackled that hand with the cigarette, which kind of looked like a flipper as I left it last week. But I guess I got the shape pretty much right, because I put in the dark lines and shadows and added the cigarette, and it looks OK.
I stopped when I felt tired. But I feel pretty good about the progress I made today. Next time I will put in the glass of plum brandy and work on her dress.
"Plum Brandy" by Edouard Manet
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