I spent about an hour today finishing the fake Picasso I started on Friday with The Cheese and Wine Painting Club on Facebook. It’s my lockdown challenge to improve my painting skills and this is my twelfth one. I’m learning a lot, studying the greats, and Ed Sumner, who leads the sessions, is an entertaining and informative teacher.
For the final bit, I turned the source picture and my painting on their sides. I find it’s easier when you’re copying an artwork to look at it from a different angle, it helps to see what’s actually there rather than what you think is there.
Here she is, Sleeping Girl. I used Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paints, Daler-Rowney brushes for acrylics and a cheapo canvas from Wilkos. The next Cheese and Wine Painting Club is on Friday August 28th and the subject is painting abstract flowers. It’s not a subject that I would normally choose, but this is about learning and improving, not enjoying myself (although mostly I do).
The best thing about abstracts is that they can look interesting from any angle. I’m not familiar with the original painting you copied so to me it looked fine sideways 😃. I often work upside down when my source material starts to confound me. By the way, from the photo it looks like you got the colors just right too.
It’s a good tip, turn it round and see it with new eyes. I’m trying to be reasonably accurate with these fakes, to get the most learning from them.