In my last post I shared Auerbach’s study of ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’. This is another post about artists studying other artists. Did you know that Picasso did a series of studies in Velasquez’s Las Meninas?
When we did modern studies of masterwork compositions in class, many students did one little study of a painting and figured they were about done, but they were only getting started. These creative iterations grow with time, and multiple of opportunities. Even if you don’t have any amazing ideas, think of each replication as a DNA copy. Eventually you’re going to get a variant by accident, and that could lead to an evolution.
Picasso, for example, made a series of 45 interpretations of Velasquez’s painting. You can watch as his first sketch is a stylized copy, then his ideas emerge, turning and shifting with each iteration.
It’s a common misconception that an artist needs lots of ideas. Really, I think we just need one or two per season, per year, or per even lifetime that we can work and rework into layers of discovery.
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” load_in_animation=”none[image_with_animation image_url=”14957″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] So – what’s a work of art you’d like to play with?
Day 28 of our 30 Day January Challenge was to transcribe Maharana Sarup Singh Inspects a Prize Stallion, by Mewar. Honestly, I hadn’t given it much thought, but one of our artists did. Soon after the challenge was posted, I received an email from Dorothy Richards. Her letter is shared below, with permission. Birthday gift? …
Wednesdays are “see and respond” days in our 30 day challenge. Two weeks ago, the challenge was to follow specific instructions for making Sol LeWitt’s wall drawing #118. Today is Sol LeWitt instructions for wall drawing #328. This one suggests you start with a black wall and draw with white crayon. Paper or black painted …
My last V. Note proclaimed itself “the first of four posts highlighting black artists with professional careers in both painting and printmaking.” I had done an internet search for black artists, and found a Wiki page with a fantastic list of artists I could research. To narrow down the list, I looked for all the artists …
Have you ever gone shopping for easels and found the options of fall-apart folding easels vs. expensive hardwood calliopes, and thought “what the heck do artists buy?” The answer might surprise you. Many painters don’t use easels at all. For my biggest paintings, two 4x4x16” pieces of wood service nicely. They lift a painting off …
Picasso’s studies of Las Meninas
In my last post I shared Auerbach’s study of ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’. This is another post about artists studying other artists. Did you know that Picasso did a series of studies in Velasquez’s Las Meninas?
When we did modern studies of masterwork compositions in class, many students did one little study of a painting and figured they were about done, but they were only getting started. These creative iterations grow with time, and multiple of opportunities. Even if you don’t have any amazing ideas, think of each replication as a DNA copy. Eventually you’re going to get a variant by accident, and that could lead to an evolution.
Picasso, for example, made a series of 45 interpretations of Velasquez’s painting. You can watch as his first sketch is a stylized copy, then his ideas emerge, turning and shifting with each iteration.
It’s a common misconception that an artist needs lots of ideas. Really, I think we just need one or two per season, per year, or per even lifetime that we can work and rework into layers of discovery.
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Day 28 of our 30 Day January Challenge was to transcribe Maharana Sarup Singh Inspects a Prize Stallion, by Mewar. Honestly, I hadn’t given it much thought, but one of our artists did. Soon after the challenge was posted, I received an email from Dorothy Richards. Her letter is shared below, with permission. Birthday gift? …
30SAL Challenge: Instructions for Drawing #328
Wednesdays are “see and respond” days in our 30 day challenge. Two weeks ago, the challenge was to follow specific instructions for making Sol LeWitt’s wall drawing #118. Today is Sol LeWitt instructions for wall drawing #328. This one suggests you start with a black wall and draw with white crayon. Paper or black painted …
The problem with posting underrepresented artists
My last V. Note proclaimed itself “the first of four posts highlighting black artists with professional careers in both painting and printmaking.” I had done an internet search for black artists, and found a Wiki page with a fantastic list of artists I could research. To narrow down the list, I looked for all the artists …
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Have you ever gone shopping for easels and found the options of fall-apart folding easels vs. expensive hardwood calliopes, and thought “what the heck do artists buy?” The answer might surprise you. Many painters don’t use easels at all. For my biggest paintings, two 4x4x16” pieces of wood service nicely. They lift a painting off …