My homage to Claude Monet and Giverny is all finished! I matched the color of the original bridge and painted it today. I really enjoy personal projects like this where I can build something and make myself smile. Now I can't wait to see my water lily blossom underneath!
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Over the weekend, I got a water lily and put it in an old smelting cauldron. I had an idea to build a small scale wooden model of Monet's bridge to span the length of it. I think they make professional model reproductions of Monet's bridge, but I needed a specific length to fit the cauldron.
Yesterday, I found an old hanging basket made with spindle parts and other wooden materials; our neighbor was throwing it away and I thought it might work for my bridge model. I wish I had taken a picture of the basket before cutting it up, but c'est la vie. It took me a few hours to build the bridge today, but I still need to paint the rails emerald green. I've built a lot of model kits in the past so this wasn't too difficult for me. I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out and I feel like it matches the vision in my head. I'll share another update once it's all painted. Some new additions to our garden and some plants that reminds me of my time last summer in Monet's garden. The new additions are from Rohsler's Nursery in Allendale, N.J. Our first new addition is a water lily; the variety is called Madame Wilfron Gonnere. I'm using an old smelting cauldron that has been on the property for a very long time and it works perfectly. I had to plug a small hole, but it's watertight now. The next addition is a row of irises in a variety of colors, alternating blue, orange, deep purple and yellow; these are all complementary colors and I can't wait to see them bloom. Irises are my favorite flower and I'm excited to have them to paint at my convenience. We're doing our flowerpots in the front with annuals (petunias, marigolds, snapdragons, alyssum, zinnia, dianthus, etc.). I have found painting inspiration in these pots for many years. The pots are being shared with some tomatoes and cucumbers which my student generously gave to me (thank you Kelly!). The backyard now has some cosmos, foxgloves, lilies and I'm waiting for hollyhocks to arrive at the garden center. We also planted a new peony which has a beautiful coral color. I've always loved plants and my time last summer in Monet's garden really made me want to learn more. I learned a lot from the gardening team in Giverny and it's nice to have some plants that remind me of my time over there. My other motivation is to have my own garden to paint in. As a painter, nature is my inspiration so I can't wait to see these plants take root and blossom as the summer begins! Water Lilies Irises *Currently waiting for more colors to bloom. Azaleas, Strawberry Foxglove, Hanging Ivy Geranium, Lilies, Cosmos, Peony, Annuals, Etc. For my spring semester watercolor class, I decided to do a mastercopy demonstration of Johannes Vermeer's (1632 - 1675), Het Straatje (The Little Street). The original is an oil painting and hangs at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
I started off by drawing accurate proportions for the buildings. In hindsight, I should have spent more time on the drawing stage because my proportions are off and my building is tilted. Buildings and structures require more precision when drawing. After my pencil work, I began painting the sky and then moved on to paint the buildings section by section. I always try to work each layer from general to specific; many of the details were done in the final session. I also used gouache to achieve certain effects such as the mortar between the bricks. I learned several things over the course of this project. I'm usually a very fast painter which serves me well when working en plein air; but this painting required patience and a discerning eye. I've worked on it since March and yet I still see so many things to add and improve. The brickwork alone is an endless pursuit. I'll keep working on it here and there and I'm planning to frame it some day. This mastercopy is allowing me to really appreciate the fact that Vermeer was a brilliant painter with a mind-boggling level of skill. |
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