color study
oil on paper
from "Ichabod Crane" (N. Rockwell)
Here's my latest copy. Rockwell is no easy guy to copy...there are such complexities in the way he uses color. I find myself wanting to work bigger and bigger (mine is about 11 X 11 inches - I'm sure Rockwell's was much larger) to accommodate all the details. Its hard to match all those colors when my smallest brush is still too big. Oh well, it was still fun to develop. The likeness to the actual/original is not that close again.
Pete
5 comments:
i like how you did the jacket. it's a well done painting in and of itself, regardless if it was your version of his piece. The only thing I can see is that the face is a little vague...it feels blurry or something.
Anyway - the wood chest (or whatever he's standing in front of) the bg are all quite nicely done.
If you really pay attention to why the pieces you're doing studies of are successful in terms of color and composition - you're going to be a master in your own right soon enough!
This really makes me want to paint - but I'd probably break out the watercolors before anything else.
and anyway - nuts to norman rockwell (I actually respect him quite a lot...as he's a genius) - he had live human models to base his paintings on...so that's sort of a cheat...
Yeah, part of that blurriness is a focus on color over detail...and me still working out technique issues.
True, and he also sometimes copied photographs directly onto the canvas and then went directly to paint...but he had the chops to back it up. Take a peek at his charcoal drawings and there will never be a doubt that he was a master. He was a very interesting guy, both personally and professionally.
I'd really enjoy seeing a watercolor! You're website has some really great samples of that medium!
Thanks for the comments.
I don't know how you do it, pete...that takes so long and even if the face is a bit blurry, the details and shadow are amazing. :)
Thanks for the kind words, Christy! Are you finished with your book revisions/finishing touches?
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