What I learned from this exercise....

12 x 12 oil on panel 'Not Idaho' - SOLD

Was it hard to try and paint in the style of Millan?  Yes!  But in an all encompassing and joyful way, and I intend to do it again and again.  Those old masters were onto something.  When you copy another's work you are forced to 'look' in ways that can't help but open your mind to new methods and ideas.  It also reinforces the importance of value....even over color.  Any artist's ability to manage value is what imbues a painting with emotion.  Color may be attractive, but what brings a viewer back to look again and again is how well they manage value.  

The DPW Challenge -Copy of Carlos San Millan

Oil on wood panel 12 x 16

Carol Marine and her husband have created a wildly successful website called Daily PaintWorks and each month a new challenge is posted.

July 22nd's Challenge was to copy a painting of an artist you admire, then use what you learned to do a second piece using what you learned.  I copied from a fine Spanish contemporary artist whose work you can see at this link:  Carlos San Millan .  The painting I copied is 4 rows down and on the far right.  There are two versions of this painting out there in cyberland, but I wasn't aware of that so I chose what was probably a study for the more precisely rendered version.

Hard, yes, but really enjoyable.

The main thing I learned is unless you have the skill of a master forger, doing a copy that looks much like the original is virtually impossible because each artist's style is a result of specific brushes, knives and paints and the way his/her arm and hand work to apply the paint.

Should you decide to do copies I suggest copying from a long-dead artist.  You can call it a copy and sell it, but contemporary artists will have copyrights and your copy can't be sold - even identified as a copy.

Lookee Lamb

Oil on linen canvas 12 x 16 - SOLD

This was painted for an entry into a local group show themed 'All Things Farm'.

The only painting that sold in the show was a peaceful seascape I titled 'Fish Farm'.  There were barns, and chickens and freshly harvested vegetable paintings, but none of those sold.  Fickle fickle public!

Know how to tell the difference between a long haired goat and a sheep?  Sheep have drop ears, and goats ears stand up.