Studying Under the Maters-Week 1 Update 2-Matisse

Hello Lifers!

I wanted to give a quick little update on my "Studying with the Masters: Becoming an Apprentice" class.

I am still in week one, even though week 6 just posted, and I am OK with that. I feel like if I tried to push to do a week of videos in a week, then I would be missing out on a lot of personal growth. (1 section of videos was 2 videos an hour each...definitely don't have that much time "free" in one day! LOL) So...I'm taking my time. 

As you know, this Week 1 has been all about Matisse and we were asked to "copy" his 1901 masterpiece "La Coiffure."

Here is the original painting of Matisse's wife:

Here are a few step-by-steps of my progress:

First we were asked to do a charcoal sketch. 

Then came the first layer, starting with the darker values. (NOTE: Matisse worked in oils on canvas, but I chose to work with acrylics on watercolor paper.)

Next came the first layers of the flesh tones.

Then...I got frustrated with the skin tones, so I decided to tackle all the color surrounding her body. 

Without having a "Matisse Manual" that says "mix 2 parts this and 3 parts that with healthy dose of titanium white" it was very difficult to figure out that colors he used. It also took looking a little deeper because if you look at the original, there are grays and blues and greens along with the yellows and pink of normal flesh tones. 

Ready for MY finished "La Coiffure?"

All in all...I am very happy with it. Jeanne Oliver made a good point during the last video...we could all spend hours and hours playing with our paintings, trying to get them "just right," but then we would be falling in to the trap of trying to make an exact copy, instead of just learning from the process.

For me, being able to look at it and see that it is NOT perfect and be OK with that...well...that is a HUGE mental accomplishment for someone who tends to lean towards the perfectionist side of things. 

As you can tell, I am learning so much about myself and my art through this class and it's only WEEK 1!

There is more to come on my journey and I hope you will continue to take the ride with me.

Until next time friends...choose to make your art intentional..not an afterthought. 

XOXO,

KERI

Studying Under the Masters: Week 1- Matisse

Hello Lifers!

As many of you know my One Little Word for 2014 is CHOOSE and one of my BIGGEST choices this year is to spend more time and  money on knowledge and less on stuff.

My first step towards that has been starting an online course called

 "Studying Under the Masters: Becoming an Apprentice." 

It is a 9 week course developed by Jeanne Oliver where she brings together herself and 8 other modern day arts and asks the question: What can we learn from great artists of the past if we sat at their feet and learned by doing what they did? That's the way people learned for centuries...they would be chosen as an apprentice and spend YEARS doing grunt work just for the opportunity to be around a master painter and gleam knowledge and skills from him/her. 

Week 1 is with Jeanne Oliver herself and she chose Matisse.

 I am only about 2/3 of the way through week 1, but already I am learning so much, about Matisse and about myself. This week is making me look at art differently...yes...I can say I do or don't like art, but why do I feel the way I feel? Am I seeing beyond the basics of the picture (it's a portrait, it's a landscape, it's a still-life, etc) and breathing in the COMPOSITION of it (the brushstrokes, the patterns, the medium, the white space, etc.) 

One of our "assignments" this week was to look at Matisse paintings and start seeing the patterns he used (he LOVED mixing Patterns!) We were to use a black pen and watercolors to do quick sketches of patterns that stuck out to us in some of his paintings. 

Here are 4 of my favorite paintings and patterns:

I couldn't find the name and date for this painting, but obviously I like it enough to use 2 patterns from it.

I loved the boldness of the white and red striped tablecloth and obviously Matisse liked it too...he was known for reusing props and I saw this tablecloth in at least 10 other paintings. 

I loved the elegant, gold scroll work on the wall. I like how it was such a contrast to the bolder and less-serious pattern of the striped tablecloth. 

This is "The Window" from 1916. I was immediately drawn to the flooring pattern...I guess chevron has been around for a while, huh?

I liked how some of the "chevrons" were broken. I think it says a lot for an artist letting go of the need for perfection. It was accidental, but this ended up with an ombre effect on the aqua color!

This is my favorite of the ones I am sharing today. The bold colors and patterns speak to me. It's called "Interior with Egyptian Curtain" from 1948 and it is an oil on canvas.

This window is my favorite part. I love that you know it is these big, beautiful branches outside this tropical oasis, but they are not so defined that it feels like your looking at real leaves. It keeps that feeling of fantasy. 

Isn't it great that all three of these are so different? During my search for patterns, I came across 2 other paintings I wanted to share because..again...they are so different from the ones with all of the big, bold patterns and scenes.

This one is called "Open Window Etretat" from 1920. The only real pattern is the small one on the curtain. It is serene and uncluttered. 

I couldn't find the name and date on this piece, but note how it is COMPLETELY devoid of patterns, people or props. It is simply an open door, giving the viewer hope that that open door can  lead anywhere...to anything...to anyone. 

I wanted to share a few things that Jeanne pointed out about Matisse that really hit home with me:

(1) Matisse was an insecure artist. Oh thank goodness...it's not just me! He struggled just like every other artist to find himself and his style. which lead to...

(2) Matisse was ALWAYS trying new things. If you look at his body of work, you would think the guy had multiple personality disorder. No...he wasn't crazy...he just knew that he always needed to keep growing as an artist and that as an artist...he would never truly "find" himself permanently..that art was a journey. 

(3) Matisse believed that nothing was permenant and it was OK to repeat. He might have 5 different versions of the same scene, with small changes like the medium or a color or a small movement of a prop. And these are just the changes that are documented. There were probably thousands of changes made because the chose NOT to get too attached to things and knew it was OK to paint over whatever he wasn't happy with until he was. 

So there you go...that is my Matisse journey (so far.)

I can't wait to share more with you over the coming weeks.

And if you would like to join me on this journey, you can check out Jeanne's website: Jeanne Oliver Designs for more information and to register. 

Until next time...make your art intentional...not an afterthought. 

XOXO,

KERI