Jonathan Harkham’s transcription of Bonnard’s flowers
In art, to transcribe is to copy or record information in a different form than the original. To transcribe a painting or drawing is not to copy the artwork exactly, but instead to record observations in a different form. A transcription also doesn’t need to copy everything in an original. An artist can choose to pull selected aspects of information here and there from within an artwork. An artist can choose to transcribe a color palette, size relationships, or an idea from an original. For many artists, the goal is not a perfect and complete copy of an artwork, but instead to use the artwork as a jumping off point to further their own work.
Good advice:
“If you don’t know what to paint, pick an artwork that you love, and do a transcription of it.” – Jonathan Harkham
Below is a collection of transcriptions by Jonathan Harkham, one of our online art instructors.
“Every great painter has loved and learned from someone that came before them.” – Jonathan Harkham
Titian’s Adam and Eve / Ruben’s transcription with a few improvementsJonathan Harkham’s transcription of Titian’s Adam and Eve
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Masaccio’s The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
Jonathan Harkham’s transcription
Titian’s Saint Margaret
Jonathan Harkham’s transcription
Rembrandt’s Slaughtered Ox
Jonathan Harkham’s transcription
Chaim Soutine’s Slaughtered Chicken
Jonathan Harkham’s transcription
Rembrandt’s Diana Bathing with her Nymphs with Actaeon and Callisto
Yesterday I posted my sketches; some fun ideas we are exploring in “Abstracting the Image” on Thursdays. Each week we’re taking a masterwork and exploring it with approaches inspired by contemporary abstract painters. The purpose of this exercise is to be able to lean on, and learn from the composition of the masterwork, while exploring …
The article below has some good stuff, but it also misses some of my personal favorite points about how European artists were effected by Japanese art. In the mid/late 1800’s, European art was based on stodgy old realism, and Japanese artists had the crazy idea of using their imagination. In these Japanese prints, proportions are changed, angles are shifted, and …
I was introduced to Stuart Shils by Mitchel Albala’s landscape painter group. Every time we were grappling with how to handle the boundary where one color meets another – the edge – the group would inevitably mention Shils, then get very quiet, as if for a moment of reverence. He does have some very lovely edges. Notice …
Do you make studies before you start a painting? Seems like most painting students don’t. We want to paint, not prepare to paint. Making a study prior to painting isn’t required for good artwork, but we learn about a subject every time we draw or paint it, so the act of sketching sure can help …
Jonathan Harkham’s Transcriptions
In art, to transcribe is to copy or record information in a different form than the original. To transcribe a painting or drawing is not to copy the artwork exactly, but instead to record observations in a different form. A transcription also doesn’t need to copy everything in an original. An artist can choose to pull selected aspects of information here and there from within an artwork. An artist can choose to transcribe a color palette, size relationships, or an idea from an original. For many artists, the goal is not a perfect and complete copy of an artwork, but instead to use the artwork as a jumping off point to further their own work.
Good advice:
“If you don’t know what to paint, pick an artwork that you love, and do a transcription of it.” – Jonathan Harkham
Below is a collection of transcriptions by Jonathan Harkham, one of our online art instructors.
“Every great painter has loved and learned from someone that came before them.” – Jonathan Harkham
.
Related Posts
Pontormo, Student Sketches
Yesterday I posted my sketches; some fun ideas we are exploring in “Abstracting the Image” on Thursdays. Each week we’re taking a masterwork and exploring it with approaches inspired by contemporary abstract painters. The purpose of this exercise is to be able to lean on, and learn from the composition of the masterwork, while exploring …
8 Great Artists Who Were Inspired by Japan
The article below has some good stuff, but it also misses some of my personal favorite points about how European artists were effected by Japanese art. In the mid/late 1800’s, European art was based on stodgy old realism, and Japanese artists had the crazy idea of using their imagination. In these Japanese prints, proportions are changed, angles are shifted, and …
Stuart Shils on Color (Part 1)
I was introduced to Stuart Shils by Mitchel Albala’s landscape painter group. Every time we were grappling with how to handle the boundary where one color meets another – the edge – the group would inevitably mention Shils, then get very quiet, as if for a moment of reverence. He does have some very lovely edges. Notice …
Studies by Susan Jane Walp
Do you make studies before you start a painting? Seems like most painting students don’t. We want to paint, not prepare to paint. Making a study prior to painting isn’t required for good artwork, but we learn about a subject every time we draw or paint it, so the act of sketching sure can help …