The Riders, Days 4 and 5

 My apologies, I neglected to post last week! Last Wednesday, March 22nd, was day 4 on this copy. This is how it looked at the end of the day last week. I didn't take a close-up photo of it, not sure why. I remember I left early, so I was probably feeling tired that day.

Yesterday was a much more productive day. I arrived before the doors opened (thank you, VRE, whose last train is at 8:15 and gets me to town almost an hour early.) The museum was extremely crowded with school groups and I attracted lots of people who stood and watched me paint. I managed to get a lot done, even with frequent breaks to chat with visitors, who are always so kind and boost my ego and spirits. The guard was great and literally had my back, reminding visitors to stay back and give me room.

I worked on the horses and the land around them. I glazed over the too-bright grass and worked on where the horses' hooves meet the ground, so they wouldn't look like they're floating. I think I'm almost finished with this copy. Not that it's a perfect copy - I see many mistakes, including the space between the horses. But as I've said before, I'm copying, not "making a copy". It's not possible to get everything correct (at least for me) and still keep the feeling of loose and scribbly that I love about this painting.

This is how it looked when I went to lunch:

After lunch, I continued glazing and putting the darker marks in the foreground. Here is how the painting looked at the end of the day. I thought of turning in my permit, but I think I'll work on it for one more day, making more corrections, before I say I'm finished with it.

I'm already trying to figure out what my next copy will be...

The Riders, Day 3

I got off to a late start this morning, and I took a different Metro line, to see what it was like. I think it took about twice as long as the one I usually take! But the station was a little closer to home and it was easier to park. Still, I'd rather have a shorter ride on the train, so I won't be doing that again. 

So it was late morning by the time I got started on my copy. The museum was really crowded! So many people all around me that I couldn't even step back to get a good look at my painting. I was surprised, since the last two Wednesdays it was pretty quiet. Somebody said they thought it was Spring Break, which would explain the crowds.

I concentrated on the horses and riders today. Those horses' legs are really confusing! Degas let the bodies of the horses run together, and sometimes the legs that I thought belonged to one horse actually belonged to another. Also, one of the horses (the very left forefront one) is very unclear as to which direction its body is facing. Sometimes I think it's one way, and sometimes another. I painted for two hours, had lunch for an hour, and then painted for another hour and a half. Suddenly I had just had enough. I was so desperate to get away from the crowds that I forgot to take a photo of my painting on the easel, so I photographed it in the Copyists' locker room, which has garish fluorescent lighting. I also photographed it out in the hallway, which has very little lighting. I'll post both here.

click the pictures for a larger view

I'm looking forward to returning fresh next Wednesday, hopefully earlier than today.