back to Sargent (day 22)

We interrupt this program...

...for some figure painting.  I think these were 5 minute poses..

I almost like how the feet turned out.

Sargent day 21

Again, light values not quite light enough, and lack the color intensity of the original.  I do suspect he used some gouache in the folds of the dress though, which I haven't bothered to do.

Sargent day 20

It has its moments, but also kind of meh.  Again, had trouble controlling the really light values.  Also wasn't able to quite get his dry-brush look on the walls.  That may be partly due to the type of paper I'm using, which is just paper in a sketchbook.  It's pretty heavy, but not watercolor paper.

Sargent day 19

Very much meh...

I mean, I guess it's a little weird that she was wrapped in carpets, but still..

Sargent day 18

Another excerpt..

A little too brown on the tree trunk.

Sargent day 17

Such a great example of negative space...and really light wash - something else I need to work on.

Sargent day 16

Busy schedule, so this is only an excerpt of one of his garden paintings - the part that i found particularly pleasing. Holding the brush like a brush (as opposed to a pen) has helped even at this tiny size.

Sargent day 15

I was totally intimidated by this one, but happily surprised how it turned out despite the less than accurate drawing and awkward cropping (lost their feet because I was at the bottom of the sketchbook).

Sargent day 14

Very small thumbnail.  Really only got basic shapes/values.

Sargent day 13

Disappointing. It started off promising (correct shapes in the face) but then I tried to adjust colors/values before everything was sufficiently dry.  The right kind of patience is definitely going to have to be something I need to work on with watercolors!

Sargent day 12

Totally whiffed on the face, but oh well. I was more focused on overall shapes - that's my excuse, haha!

Sargent day 11

So far this has been the most confusing one for me - so many subtle color variations..Not sure it looks like the actual piece, but I guess it didn't turn out terrible, though. 

Sargent day 10

Haven't really thought about how long to keep this up...I guess I'll just keep going, haha!

Sargent day 9

Didn't have a whole lot of time today, so smaller thumbnail, about 30 minutes.

Sargent day 8

It's the initial to mid stages that seem the most difficult to me...getting a the right shapes at the right saturation, knowing when to blend colors, when not to.

Sargent day 7

meh...

Sargent day 6

Another really difficult one.  Architecture is always a challenge (proportions!), and then once again it's really hard to see exactly what he saw in the foreground...obviously gondolas and such.  Still, detail was not my main goal here.

Sargent day 5

Complicated composition!  Didn't quite get the drawing right, and because I'm working small, didn't quite get the people on the gondola.  I'm thinking he used some kind of red and viridian in this painting instead of just burnt sienna, yellow, and ultramarine.

Sargent per day

I'm attempting to be more disciplined about doing some actual (as opposed to digital) painting every day for an hour before i start work, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to really look at and copy some of the watercolors of John Singer Sargent.  I find it slightly terrifying to try and copy this genius, but so far I feel like I can distantly glimpse some of the decisions he made.

These are only little thumbnails, so I'm not trying to be too slavish: