One of the fun things that my art class taught me was that masterpieces are not as hard as they look to reproduce. It is the process of creation, coming up with the idea, the composition, the colours, the textures, the sum of the parts to achieve the iconic piece, the thinking and meaning behind it, that is the genius of the artist. And this we learned by each choosing a masterpiece to paint. At the time, the most obvious choice to me was Starry Starry Night. I thought it would be very difficult. To my surprise, it was one of the most relaxed pieces to do because all the artistic decisions had already been made by no less than Van Gogh, haha..
Much as I am anti-copying, I learned that it is a very useful practice to emulate works of masters, if only to open my eyes to possibilities that I have never thought of before and to gain an insight into the thinking process behind the works.
The works of Cezanne have always fascinated me and the best part was I could not fathom why they were so intriguing until I started painting and reading up on art literature. He is not called the Father of Modern Art for nothing obviously, having shown the way, post-Impressionism, to artists like Picasso. I love his impossibly-genuis compositions and use of greens. Plus, he paints the most luscious-looking apples ever period ;p
So here are some of these masters "copies" or influenced works..
Title: Learning from Van Gogh ~ Starry Night (O11)
Description: Learning piece. 2005.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 50 x 40cm.
Price: SOLD.
Title: Learning from Cezanne ~ Pines and Rocks (W2)
Description: Learning piece. 2008.
Medium: Watercolour Work.
Dimensions: 26 x 19cm.
Price: S$35 (USD29).
Title: Learning from Cezanne ~ Under The Trees (W3)
Description: Learning piece. 2008.
Medium: Watercolour Work.
Dimensions: 23 x 16cm.
Price: S$35 (USD29).
Title: The Binary (A5)Description: This piece was created for the fill-your-walls Apple-on-Canvas launch exhibtion on 12 Dec 08, and a nod to my favourite artist, Cezanne. 2008.Medium: Acrylic on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 25 x 25cm.Price: SOLD.
2 comments (starry):
jeffrey said...
Not bad!
beibei said...
Niceeee... I like Van Gogh...
My main medium is oil which I use in the studio, or acrylic when I paint outdoors. Occasionally I'm enticed to dabble in other media for the fun of it or when I'm having a block with the canvas. So it was that I was having a particularly long block that I decided to have a go at watercolour which I've been told is the most difficult medium of all. In fact, several of the experienced folks at my art class started with watercolour and are now firmly attached to the canvas ;p Too much heartbreak, they say.
So it was with great trepidation that I started on watercolour.. and learned first-hand all the things that I had been warned.. tremble, tremble, joking.. I'm no watercolourist but it had been a fun experiment. I learned the essentialness of thinking and planning everything ahead, the importance of decisiveness in colour, stroke, and amount of water in the brush, and of course, the criticalness of delivery where a single mistake will cost the whole piece - and somehow it almost always does.. sigh.. that's why I say I'm not a colourist. Too much heartbreak, indeed ;p
But I do find that the watercolour experience helps when I reverted back to oil and found fresh perspectives. When I travel on my own, it has become a habit to bring my little watercolour pad because it's the easiest medium to bring, in case I do find the opportunity to paint. So here are some of my "experiments", for good or for bad.
Title: Sunrise At Halong Bay (W4)
Description: Impressions of Halong Bay, Vietnam. 2007.
Medium: Watercolour Work.
Dimensions: 30 x 23cm.
Price: SOLD.
Title: Trees At Overland Track (W5)
Description: Eucalyptus trees at Overland Track, Tasmania. 2007.
Medium: Watercolour Work.
Dimensions: 30 x 23cm.
Price: SOLD.
Title: Iona Abbey (W6)
Description: Inspired by the beautiful columns of an ancient abbey at Iona Island in the Scottish Hebrides. 2007.
Medium: Ink & Watercolour Work.
Dimensions: 24 x 18cm.
Price: NFS.
Title: Iona Ruins (W7)
Description: Ancient ruins at Iona Island in the Scottish Hebrides. 2007.
Medium: Ink & Watercolour Work.
Dimensions: 24 x 18cm.
Price: SOLD.
1 comment (Halong Bay):
karen said...
... gorgeous... pretty impressive, in my view.
1 comment (Overland Track):
beibei said...
Somehow i like this
The reference photo for this piece was taken on the famous 100-mile Klondike Highway from Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, paralleling the White Pass Trail of the 1897-98 Klondike Gold Rush. I love this shot because it shows the winding road flanked by tumbling autumn slopes with majestic snow-laden mountains interpersed in clouds looming ahead. Everything folds into a kaleidoscopic centre where the highway appears to dip into a lake, hinting at the drama and spectacle that lays ahead.
I did the watercolour piece at a time when I was experimenting with watercolours, which I learned to be an unforgiving medium when it came to mistakes. However, I was really pleased with the nuanced effects I could achieve for the clouds interplay with the mountains. Later when I moved back to oil and started using painting knife, I decided to try this piece in a different mood. I had been trying to learn colour theory from artbooks which somehow stifled my inspiration, so this piece was a happy comeback explosion of sorts for my colourful palette. In the end, I have 2 works on the same scene but varying in medium and moods - one bold and glorious, the other subdued and pensive - echoing respectively the sweeping events of the grand epic adventure that was the Klondike Gold Rush and the poignant poetic side of the individual human stories.
The oil piece will be displayed at the 6 perspectEVEs exhibition from 17 ~ 28 August 2009 at The Art Loft @ Volvo.
Title: Seasons ~ Autumn Crescendo (O8)
Description: On the Klondike Highway from Alaska to Yukon. 2008.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 73 x 60cm.
Price: SOLD.
Watercolour Autumn Highway (W1) 41x32cm: S$80 (USD62).
2 comments:
alice said...This is gorgeous!
judy said...
Your use of color adds excitement to your work! I love your treatment of the mountain scape in Autumn Crescendo and the lovely Winter Wonderland.
