Winter in California usually brings rain. So far, nothing. The grassy hills die down to beige and brown, the oak trees are dark spots against the pale grasses. It’s a beauty of its own. Here, the beginning of a sunset casting its warmth on the peaks as the day ends.
We had only a 2-week session of out pencil portrait class. We met in a park behind the local library for a couple of hours for the past two Wednesdays, and I will miss them so much! Perhaps next year? I hope so.
Our teacher, Steve, is a lovely man, encouraging with a sharp eye and pithy, simple suggestions. I know I have improved a great deal in the few sessions we have had.
So, for today’s portrait, I chose to use the photo below, found on Pixabay. I love the expression in this photo, as well as the challenges it posed – the tilt of the head, the odd angles, the contrast. My own drawing failed to catch this beautiful face, but it did work as far as placement of eyes, nose, mouth, ear. It was really a tough study!
The pencil portrait class has gotten me interested in drawing faces. I’ve done three so far. Maybe something to schedule every Wednesday morning to keep my hand in it, and hope Steve will honor us with another series next year.
My version . . . I didn’t try to be accurate about the geology, but I wanted to represent the beauty I have seen here. Proportions are off, but the spirit of the place was the goal, as well as the wonderful striations which make up the area.
No matter what I did, I could not like this effort, nor did I much like Monet’s painting, either. All painters have those days – I wonder if Monet was as displeased with his version as I am?! I decided to do a detail of Monet’s composition, the part showing how small the people are in comparison to the chalk cliffs of Etretat.
One thing that I have really noticed is the vast differences found among the same images on the net – some are lighter, bluer, duller, ickier, prettier.
I think I am done with Monet for a bit . . .
Here I think Monet and Van Gogh sort of collaborated! My visions are definitely more colorful than the 1886 Manneporte of Etretat by Monet!
However much I would like to be as good as Monet or Van Gogh, the point of this exercise was not to copy but to look closely. I wanted to look closely at how parts of the painting were rendered, such as the water and the stone and the sky. Here, there was less blending by Monet and more of an expression of texture and light by brush strokes, both horizontal and vertical, as well as a blending in the sky of horizon lines.
I could do this one again and perhaps try for a touch lighter color as well as more analytic approach to the rendering. One thing, though, is Monet used oils, and I am using gouache, and while similar, they are also very different in what one can do. Or, at least what I seem to be able to do at this point.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 