ArtistsNetwork.com 29TIPS
- Knowwhatyouhopetolearn
fromcopyinga masterwork.
Thegoalisn’ttomakea forgery
buttoreverse-engineerthe
master’sthoughtprocess.It’s
notasmuchaboutthepainting
asit isaboutunderstandingthe
artist’sapproach. - Avoidcopyingthepainting
“spotforspot.”Instead,tryto
discernwhatthepainterdid
first,second,thirdandsoon.
Again,you’retryingtoinferthe
process.Seethestepsinmy
copyofAndersZorn’sportrait,
CoquelinCadet(pages30–31). - Focusona specificarea
orsubjectthatinterestsyou.
Youdon’tneedtocopyanentire
painting.A fewminutesspent
depictinganinterestingpassage
canpaybigdividends.I’ve
copiedSargenthandsandZorn
heads,forexample. - Tryusinga different
medium.Onthewallofhisart
studio,artistDanGerhartzhas
a pencildrawingofaneye
originallypaintedbyNicolai
Fechin.MycopyofYoungGirl
(opposite),aftera Fechinoil
painting,isexecutedinpastel.
Translatinganotherartist’s
techniqueintoa different
mediumisanexcellentway
toexpandyourtoolkit. - Considerusinganobviously
differentpalette.Zornused
ivoryblack,yellowochre,
vermilionandwhitetocreate
mostofhismasterworks.What
wouldit beliketocopyoneofhis
paintingsusingultramarineblue,
cadmiumyellowlight,alizarin
crimsonandwhite?
HITTING THE
RIGHT NOTE
Today, as the pendulum swings back
toward contemporary realism, atelier-
style schools have sprung up to once
again teach fundamental drawing and
painting skills. Workshops provide
training for both professional artists
and hobbyists. Yet, for some reason,
the practice of copying masterworks
still gets short shrift. The Modernist
focus on novelty to the exclusion of
everything else may still stand in the
way. As a result, today’s artists are
sometimes short-changed in their
pursuit of a skills-based education.
Consider this: Music and the visual
arts share much in the way of com-
mon language. Painters speak of
composition, motifs and “notes” of
color. Yet while visual artists often are
left to figure these tenets out on their
After Fechin, Eya
by William A. Schneider
oil on linen, 20x14
I wanted to copy the
broken-stroke eff ect in
Fechin’s Eya by working in
a wet-into-wet alla prima
manner. I experimented with
holding the brush parallel to
the untoned canvas and
using unthinned paint to
create a “skipping” eff ect
when I did my initial drawing.own, musicians are trained in these
areas. Practically every student of
music learns the work of Bach,
Beethoven and Chopin, for example.
The most creative rock group of all
time—The Beatles—learned its craft
by playing the music of Little Richard,
Buddy Holly and The Coasters; this
gave the group the musical vocabulary
to develop its own style. We could
stand to borrow some of the best
practices of musicians.
If you worry that copying master-
works could stifle the development
of your own style, that your work
will be mistaken for that of Sargent
or Rembrandt, give up that thought.
Just as your handwriting is individu-
alized, so, too, is your painting style.
I tell students, “If you copy from one
person, it’s plagiarism. If you copy
from many, it’s research.” The fact is,
copying masterworks will accelerate
your development as
an artist.
The good news is
that we no longer have
to travel to a distant
museum and beg for
permission to set up our
easels. We’re fortunate
to live in a time in which
technology allows us to
access masterworks on
our computers or by
scanning images from
art resources.
Copying a master-
work is only a part of
one’s training. It doesn’t
replace the need to
paint from life. But
copying a masterwork