Copy of Sargent's "Lady Astor"

I just posted this picture in my "Master Copies" gallery, but I thought I'd say a bit more about it here. This is a copy of a small part of John Singer Sargent's "Lady Astor" (1909), which hangs in Cliveden, the former Astor estate in southern England.  As I noted in the Master Copies gallery, Lady Nancy Astor was, among other things, the first female member of the House of Commons. She argued politics frequently with Winston Churchill, once saying that if she were his wife, she'd put poison in his coffee. Churchill supposedly replied: "Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it."

I embarked on this copy to learn more about how Sargent made his portraits look so three-dimensional. I painted this in several sessions, spending about 10-15 hours; I didn't do much glazing, more just fussing with proportions and color temperature. Did Sargent paint this alla prima, or did he glaze?

My likeness is pretty good but not perfect. My Nancy is a tad thinner, with a slightly smaller nose and mouth. It'd have taken me another 15 hours to get it just right, and the purpose of the exercise wasn't to make an exact replica. I also couldn't resist warming up her skin tone a tad; in Sargent's day, a pale face (with reddish ears!) was more in style. Anyway, at some point, I decided I'd learned what I was going to learn, and I declared victory. Of course, as soon as I posted it here, I saw imperfections that I'll have to fix: the shadows on her neck being a prime candidate.

Incidentally, when I was photographing this painting, I couldn't keep glare out of the right side of the black background, so I've photoshopped that bit to make it blacker. I'm going to try again with a better camera, but in the meantime, I thought I'd post what I have. Oil on canvas, 11" x 14"; comments and constructive critique welcome.

Another tree in Bethesda

I had grand plans for this plein air painting, but it was horribly hot outside, so I simplified the composition to give me time to finish before I melted.  It was still pretty rushed, so it's not the best thing I've ever done, but I like the soft background and the pretty tree.  I think it's a sweetgum tree, but I'm not sure.  Oil on panel, 8" x 10".

Also, with this post I have theoretically enabled comments. This site is still in the testing phase, so I haven't told many people about it yet, and thus I don't expect any comments yet. But in coming weeks I hope that will change.

A tree grows in Bethesda

I was going for a mood of mystery and isolation in this picture. I hope I achieved it.

I started this painting last week, but after my first session, I had omitted the tree trunk on the right, as it's a few feet out of the frame in real life. The artist who leads my landscape class persuaded me to put the tree in, and I'm glad I did! It adds interest, and it makes clear that some of the tree branches are in front of the house as well as behind it.

Gold star to anyone who can identify where the house is. Er, I know I haven't enabled comments yet; I'm working on it! I hope to have a comment system in place shortly.

House shrouded in trees. Oil on panel, 8" x 10", 2017.

Some 10-minute "Gesture watercolors"

I had lots of fun with the watercolors during "watercolor week." I did a few interesting little paintings on the train to and from New York; I may post some of those later.  I also did some 10-minute "gesture watercolors" in a tiny sketchbook.  A "gesture sketch" is a quick drawing intended to capture the general energy and proportions of a pose, not fine detail. So I suppose a "gesture watercolor" is a similar sketch but done with watercolors.

I did these at a one-hour short-pose life-drawing session at the venerable Art Students League in New York, on West 57th Street. Every time I visit New York, I drop by the League for a drawing session or two. The League has a storied history, and it's good to see it's still busy training artists today. Check it out here: https://www.theartstudentsleague.org/

Anyway, I  typically spent five or six minutes drawing and  the final four or five minutes painting.  The results may not be masterpieces, but they're interesting. 

Nude on chair, watercolor on paper, 6" x 6", July 6, 2017, at the Art Students League. I tried to capture the rather defiant expression on the model's face.

Nude with globe, watercolor on paper, 6" x 6", July 6, 2017, at the Art Students League. That's supposed to be drapery on the floor, but I had a bit of a mishap with my blue paint.  :)

Watercolor week!

I usually paint in oils, but when I'm traveling, as I am this week, I grab my watercolors and gouache. I'm taking a watercolor sketch book, as usual, but I may also bring a couple of Ampersand Aquabord panels. I'm still debating about whether they're worth the added weight.

On the one hand, there's an irrational part of me that seems to concentrate more when painting on a rigid support.  It's as if a panel is Art, and paper is a mere sketch.  On the other hand, there's a very rational part of me (my hernia scar!) that prefers to travel very light, which argues for paper. Plus, we all know from "rock paper scissors" that paper covers masonite, not the other way around.  (Ha!)

Anyway, if I produce anything of note, I'll post it in this space. At the very least, I hope to attend a figure-drawing session, so I may have a few gesture drawings to show off.

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