(^64) http://www.InternationalArtist.com
era was at a stage in history where
black-and-white photography existed.
I even found a very short movie film
of Claude Monet painting. So he,
Auguste Rodin, Vincent van Gogh,
Edouard Manet and Pablo Picasso
became my subjects. The work
featured in this article is my painting
of Edouard Manet painting Claude
Monet painting.
My Van Gogh painting is of him
painting Wheatfield with Cypresses,
one of three versions he painted of
that scene. Mine sold at an art show
and as it is rare to receive comment
from buyers you never meet, it was a
pleasant surprise when the interstate
purchaser emailed, “Over three years
we have been searching for a painting
that actually had meaning and we love
it.” Therefore, I felt I was on a good
track to satisfying buyers’ tastes.
Having owned 26 boats and sailed in
many places around the world, I have
always loved marine subjects and enter
a marine art show annually. However,
if your work doesn’t sell there, it is
usually difficult to sell marine art
elsewhere. So, the Monet and this
Manet/Monet subject ideas were aimed
at being able to be sold elsewhere if not
purchased at the marine show.
Much of the total time was spent
on research: many photographs of
Manet, Monet and Monet’s wife, the
background scene that appears in a
number of Monet’s paintings, Renoir’s
paint box became Manet’s, the look
of the paint tubes from the Winsor &
Newton history website, clothing and
hairstyles from the era (boys usually had
“pudding basin” haircuts), sail boat rigs,
women’s dresses and so on. Monet and
Manet’s portraits are from black-and-
white photographs and Camille is from
a painting of her by Monet. I could
find no full figure reference for Manet,
so stuck his head on my body and gave
him a shirt style from the time, which,
unfortunately, he has stained with color
from his palette. Oddly, in nearly every
photograph of artists’ painting from that
period, they are wearing a suit, collar
and tie and, only occasionally, a smock.
Once I was well underway, I worried
that viewers would wonder why my
version of Monet’s studio boat was so
different in color, shape and number of
windows to those in Manet’s painting.
To validate my rendering, in the bottom
left-hand corner I have attached a
collage photograph of one of Monet’s
own paintings of his studio boat.
Mark Twain said that after food,
shelter and security, we need something
to do. And practicing art supplies that in
spades with pencils, brushes, paint and
imagination. Creating art is satisfying,
engrossing and rewarding.
Is it good for you? Yes. An American
study published in Neurology magazine
showed that people practicing art had
very much less chance of developing
dementia and memory loss. The study
showed how various activities reduced
the risk of mild cognitive impairment:
pottery, quilting and sewing 45 percent
less risk; computer use 53 percent;
socializing 55 percent; and painting,
drawing or sculpting provided 73
percent less risk of memory loss. Art.
Get on with it.
Rhapsody, oil on canvas, 102 x 76 cm (40 x 30")
The music is the first bar and a bit of Rhapsody in Blue.
barré
(Barré)
#1