A Painting Today: August 2019

Thursday, August 29, 2019

"Sitting Idly By"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I've shied away from painting artists set up in the museum, painting a chosen work of art. I don't know why. This gentleman's choice was a great one, a portrait by John Singer Sargent, Ellen Peabody Endicott (Mrs. William Crowninshield Endicott) - a daunting challenge for any artist studying Sargent's paintings.

Ellen Peabody was born into a wealthy, Salem, Massachusetts shipping family - grew into a socialite in Boston, married William Crowninshield Endicott who served on the Massachusetts Supreme Court and became President Grover Cleveland's secretary of war. Although it's not confirmed, at the time of the sitting, Ellen was possibly in mourning after her husband's recent death, explaining her black dress and somber expression.

Sargent's portrait hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

Friday, August 23, 2019

"Don't Go"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

There's an expected aftermath which happens after I finish a solo show. Keep in mind I painted every single day for over four months, no lie, to achieve the grouping I first imagined. Then there's varnishing. Then framing. Then shipping. Then traveling to the opening. Then attending the opening.

So when it's all done, I take a few days off and get back to painting. Then it fails. Rinse and repeat. Three paintings wiped and tossed aside.

I did paint my neighbor's dog though. That was fun.

Today felt a little different. Yay.

From the Sculpture Gallery in the American Art Wing in the Art Institute of Chicago, the marble sculpture The Lost Pleiade by Randolph Rogers seemingly calling back the young woman walking into the shadows.