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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I planted some irises a few weeks ago and my first one just bloomed! Irises are favorite flower and I really fell in love with them when I was in Monet's garden last summer. I can never capture the beauty in a photo so I'll be painting and sketching these as the spring continues.
My birthday is also coming up so I'm planning to go to the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in Montclair which opens on May 11th. I've never been there before so I reached out and asked if they allow painting, which they do so I'll definitely be painting there. Here are some photos from today's workshop at Lee Memorial Library in Allendale, NJ. We had a great turn out and everyone did an amazing job on their pastel drawings. It's great to encourage students to get outside and enjoy working en plein air.
There was a lot of interest in future events which we will coordinate at some point soon. In the meantime: check out my EVENTS PAGE and I post updates on this BLOG also. Huge thanks again to Lee Memorial Library, Nancy, Melissa and everyone who attended this plein air workshop! I'm very happy to announce that I'll be teaching a workshop next year in the south of France. This workshop is being coordinated by Ms. Béatrice Dunksi of Paint Away Tours, who I've been in touch with since I was in Giverny last summer. I've been busy scheduling workshops and it's been great to connect with more artists, teachers and businesses. This workshop highlights lavender fields, old towns, medieval villages, mediterranean harbors, castles & wine country. When I was in France, I lived in Giverny and I went to Paris, Auvers-sur-Oise (where Van Gogh is buried) and a few other places but I didn't get to Provence or the southern regions. I'm really looking forward to painting and teaching in this beautiful area. There are more details coming about this workshop, but I wanted to share this because I'm really excited and grateful for this opportunity. I can't wait for it! |
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