My Atelier: MIMICKING CHARDIN

Jean-Babtiste-Simeon Chardin, the French painter born in Paris, 1699, again at the end of a century,  is unquestionably the greatest master of still life in the 18th century.  He has been called the painter of the French petite bourgeiousie.  His works are simple, depicting humble occupations. They are executed in a highly individual style all the while portraying Chardin's immense talent as a painter. Click on link to see some of Chardin's work:

Chardin's Glass of Water and Coffee Pot (oil on Canvas, 1760)

Diderot, French philosopher and art critic, was among the admirers of Chardin's still lifes at the Salon of 1763 wrote, "It is difficult to comprehend this kind of magic.  Thick layers of color are applied one upon the other and seem to melt together.  At other times one would draw near, and everything flattens out and disappears; step back and all the forms are re-created."  Chardin's technique at first glance seems simple.  His colors are sober and without much variation, but he sought to render form by means of light creating a soft glow while softening the contrasts.  His is a technique often copied.  


I thought I should try my hand at it.

I set up a still life arrangement of a blue glazed ceramic pitcher, mortar and pestle, and garlic cloves.  Sketched in colored pencil, then in pastel.


After, deciding upon oil painting palette, I transferred my drawing to a primed panel, and laid in the underpainting, by using Maimeri Puro artist's burnt umber and wiped out the highlights using a soft cotton rag.

Building the painting developed like so:

I think that I will continue to develop the shadows of this painting.

Copying Velazquez

Continuing the atelier approach, but accelerating the pace, I jumped right into color.  Who could wait to squeeze out all that luscious pigment from unopened tubes?  And besides, I needed to refresh my mixing skills.  I started with the primary color wheel using Maimeri Puro primary blue and yellow, Maimeri Classico vermilion light and  Gamblin's Flake White Replacement from which I created the following palette sample on the left.  The color samples on the right in the photo came straight from the tube with the addition of white.   Maimeri colors are in the left column and Gamblin's in the right.  

Choosing a master artist to copy was not hard for me.  I had always delighted in portraiture.  Even my past botanical watercolors were done from life and treated as if each plant was "sitting" for me.  It was natural that I chose Velazquez's portrait of a Needlewoman to copy.  I had been a fiber artist as well, raising sheep, spinning and weaving wool, creating hand painted silk scarves (again all lost to the fire).


Furthermore, Velazquez represented a true innovator of his day.  The Spanish painter who died in 1660 at the age of 61 was not only the royal court painter at the palace in Madrid for most of his life but traveled extensively through out Italy strengthening his training in classical Venice, Rome and Naples.  As his personal style developed his "brush strokes grew freer...letting each hue stand by itself in individual dots of color."  He was, in fact, discovering impressionism!  What appealed to me about his "Needlewoman" was the rendering of her sewing hands captured as if in motion.  This was truly a revolutionary art form in 1640.


Step One, prepared a value toned pencil study

Step Two, executed underpainting using wash of mineral spirits, burnt sienna and terre verte. 
Step Three, applied more opaque layers experimenting with Gamblin Galkyd Lite and Neo Megilp  medium.

Final copy of "The Needlewoman" by Diego Velazques

My painting Oil on Panel 9"x16"

You can see my little horse head bookend (previous painting see post) to the left on the table and to the right is a still life arranged for my next study as I prepare to examine the technique Chardin used in painting still life.

ATELIER 101 BEGINS

As I've stated before, it was years before I picked up a brush to paint anything other than a wall or floor.  Last year, 2009, I finally changed all that.  I got a book, Classical Painting Atelier by Juliette Aristides.  

Then I got another, Methods and Materials of Painting of the Great Schools and Masters by Sir Charles Lock Eastlake originally written in 1847 under the title of Materials for a History of Oil Painting.  


Then another, Traditional Oil Painting by Virgil Elliot; and another
Rembrandt, the Painter at Work by Ernst Van de Vetering...and so on, 


realizing that I had never fully explored painting in the classical manner.  What better approach to take after such a long time off.

I went back to the principles outlined by the Venetian, Cennini in the 14th century (his Trattato della Pittura), bought oil artist's colors from Gamblin, an American company located in Portland OR whose motto is "the tools of contemporary masters" www.gamblincolors.com and started with a traditional grisaille palette.

My first monochromatic painting using gamblin artist's oil colors, Old Holland classic linen primed and stretched canvas ground, working from a small three dimensional  horse head bookend.  My photography skills didn't accurately render the original painting.  There is no grainy quality to the oil painting.