Music: Tori Amos "Girl" When I was a child I copied the works of the masters from old art books my parents had bought. At this point in my teaching career I had decided to return to my original instincts to further my own artistic knowledge and abilities. Johannes Vermeer might have been the greatest painter who ever lived; not because of subject matter, scale, philosophy of art, nor daring. Quite simply Vermeer may have possessed a greater command of the medium of oil paint and a knowledge of colour theory than any other artist who ever painted. He may have used a camera obscura to witness the diffusion and play of light (as quite convincingly expressed by David Hockney); but we all take advantage of the tools afforded us. It is my sincere and upmost belief that walking in the steps of the masters (copying their compositions, poses, and techniques) is the only way to truly understand the nature of their work. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Degas, Van Gogh, and Picasso all copied the works of their artistic influences. For me, recreating their works has led to a breakthrough in my understanding of composition and in the execution of my own creations. I painted this for my father, whose favorite artist is Vermeer. The only alteration I made (besides size) in this painting, was changing the lion head finials of the original to my Dad’s dead dog Buffy. In the video I included the photo I used of Buffy and the gridded photo I used to draw the image on the canvas. My favorite moment in the video is at 13 seconds when the face changes colors as my iPhone begins to incorporate the intense red of hat above her shadowed face.

.

.

.

#vermeer #painting #cuadros #portrait #arte