MMP Series # 5 - Dali's - Persistence of Memory

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides

This Mini Master Piece is from Salvador Dali, an artist from Spain that lived from 1904 to 1989. Dali was a very unique & flamboyant artist that is best known for his surrealism. The Persistence of Memory is his most-known painting and I chose it as my subject. As with my other MMP pieces in this series, I chose to do only a small section of the painting, and I also made a few subtle color changes.

Here is a link in Wikipedia that describes his life -There is much to read and he lead a very interesting life.

MMP Series #3 - Picasso's Jacqueline

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides
Email if you are interested in this piece

We now visit Pablo Picasso. This mini-master piece is from his painting: Jacqueline with Flowers - as seen below.

Of all his work, this one struck me the most. Might be because of the blue background, but there is just something about the head, face & neck. Oh, that neck! On my MMP, it continues on the bottom!

A bit about Picasso & Jacqueline -- she was his second wife. They met when she was 27 & he was 72. They married years after that meeting & she became his most often painted female. Picasso died in 1973 (I remember the day). Jacqueline, sadly, killed herself in 1986.

MMP Series #2 - Van Gogh's Starry Night

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides
Email if interested

I doubt this one needs any introduction - his style is so unique & very recognizable. This was the 2nd in my MMP series which I am revisiting - and plan to expand on.

This was my first artist "love" - Vincent Van Gogh, and to this day, he is still one of my most admired artists. His explosion of color, rough brush strokes (not smooth like realistic painters), and the energy he gave his works -- all captured my mind. I had wanted to paint just like Vincent!  Of course, my style is not near the same. 

But for the MMP series, I chose Starry Night to do one of the Master's pieces. Such a challenge - the color, the brush strokes. And because it's so different than my own style, it gave me angst as I had tried to reproduce his piece! In the end, I was quite pleased with myself on this - still am.

MMP series #1 - Monet's A Woman in a Garden

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides

NFS

I thought you'd might like to see the first of the MMP series. This piece is from Claude Monet's "A Woman in a Garden" painting, circa 1867, which is captioned as "a study on the effect of sunlight & shadow on colour." It is probably my most favorite Monet painting. (well, one of my most favorite!) This piece is NFS because it's in my home, in my studio, where I can see it often - and it always makes me smile.

Here is a photo of the full original:

MMP Series #9 - O'Keeffe's Floral

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides
NFS

The next artist in my MMP series is Georgia O'Keefe. You can read more about the artist here. 

Fascinating artist, be sure to read up on her. She painted a varied list of subjects, but most know of her work through her florals. It is what I am most familiar with - hence, I chose this to paint. Of all the artists I've done so far, this artists work is the most difficult I have found to do in acrylics. Her works have a tremendous amount of smooth blending, which with acrylics can be tough to achieve (they dry so fast). I'm wondering if I should try this one again - only with my Golden acrylics.I haven't tried these paints yet - plan to - but never seem to break them out. I've been hesitant to try them because I fear I will be disappointed. I miss my oils. (may have to remedy that also, one of these days)

Because of the reds in this - it would not photograph well for me. My camera has troubles with reds - they are either too vibrant, or too flat (or a bit of both)

All of these paintings in my MMP series has been a challenge and a chance to learn. Because of all the different styles, it gives me a chance to try different things. It's almost like taking workshop classes from the masters! I'm grateful for the opportunity!

MMP Series #8 - Warhol's Zebra - SOLD

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides
NFS

Andy Warhol is my next artist for the MMP series. You can read more about the artist here. 

His vast list of art pieces made it an interesting journey to explore & decide which one to feature. He is known so much for his pop art, numerous portraits of celebrities. And also for his simple items - such as the Cambell's Tomato Soup. I looked at all of these, but didn't feel the connection that I like to have when I work on a piece of the masters. However, seeing Grevy's Zebra definitely spoke to me - probably because of my graphic arts background.

I used only 4 colors - basically, red, blue & yellow (2 different blues actually) and some white. Although I have not seen Warhol's Zebra in person, I feel, from the photos I've studied, that it has a very limited palette. So I did the same with my acrylics.

I've decided to collect these small paintings for a show I will be doing later this year. My goal is to do 1 painting for each of the 30 top artists. Obviously, at #8 I have a ways to go. Plus I will need to paint a new DaVinci as that one sold. For now, you will need to contact me if interested in any of the paintings in the MMP series.

MMP Series #7 - Rembrandt's Young Girl

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides
available via DPW auction click here

I am no Rembrandt! An expression that's been said often, but I truly mean it. This was, by far, the biggest challenge I have given myself so far in my MMP series. I have said repeatedly that I do not paint human portraits. Jokingly I've said "they look like people but they never look like THE people." And, it is still true - because Rembrandt's "Young Girl" has aged in my painting & appears as a much older woman.

Still, this was such a learning experience. Every little dab of paint changes a human face, sometimes so drastically that it makes the difference between the right nose & the wrong nose. Make the dab lighter, it changes again. Make it darker & a whole different look happens. 

I do like my end result, although it's not a match to Rembrandt's version. And I liked the learning experience enough that I will probably do another of Rembrandt's faces again. 

MMP Series # 6 - Matisse's - Woman with a Hat

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides
available via DPW auction click here

This is another in my Mini-Master Pieces series. The artist is Henri Matisse, the name of this piece is "Woman with a Hat" dated 1905. You can read more about this piece by clicking here. You can read more about the artist by clicking here.

This was a WOW for me - not in expertise, but the opposite. Wow, what a learning experience. They say you should go out of your comfort zone periodically, that it will open a different window into your art & technique. I could not believe how true that statement was until I did this piece!

I was never fan of Henri Matisse or his work - always seemed a bit too bold for me. And, of course, it does not have the details I am always so fond of. But, Matisse was next on my list of artists - so to continue with this self-challenge, I picked one of his paintings to do a mini variation of. After scrolling through the many pieces of his, I chose this - Woman with a Hat. Not sure why, I think I actually fell for all the color in it!

What did I learn? Most of what I learned had to do with the mixing of colors. To keep the entire color palette cohesive, I limited my colors to a specific palette - then working with only those, I mixed what I needed. Since I am working with acrylics, and Matisse used oils, I did multiple washes in some area to achieve the look that oils achieve easily. Still, it was not a great deal of work - it was the color mixing that became the main focus on this piece.

The colors I chose & stuck with are: Titantium White, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue, Dioxazine Purple, Cobalt Teal, Naples Yellow & Pyrrole Orange. There was also the smallest touches of Alizarin Crimson & Naphthol Red light. Using these, I often picked up a touch of one color & and touch of another color on my brush to create a color on the canvas. Other times, I would mix. The Cobalt Teal was used to make most of the blue's & green's. The Dioxazine Purple makes wonderful shadow lines. 

This painting is on a 6x6 block canvas, with 1-1/2 inch sides. And I continued the image on all 4 sides - which makes it so interesting to look at. Here are a few angle shots:

I don't think this experience will make me a fan of Matisse's art, but I do now have a greater respect for his work & technique. 

On to the next artist - I won't say who it is, but will say that his work will be as great a challenge as Matisse's but with a completely different style!

MMP Series # 5 - Dali's - Persistence of Memory

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides

The next artist on my Mini Masterpiece list is Salvador Dali, an artist from Spain that lived from 1904 to 1989. Dali was a very unique & flamboyant artist that is best known for his surrealism. The Persistence of Memory is his most-known painting and I chose it as my subject. As with my other MMP pieces in this series, I chose to do only a small section of the painting, and I also made a few subtle color changes.

Here is a link in Wikipedia that describes his life - I haven't finished it yet, but fully intend to. There is much to read and he lead a very interesting life.

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In case you are wondering about my artist list, I am working from a list of artists that I found on www.artcyclopedia.com -- the top 30 artist searches. I originally started out of order, but am now following the list. Some artists on this list will be a bigger challenge than others - should be a very interesting series. 

MMP Series #4 - Da Vinci's - Mona's Hands - SOLD

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides
SOLD

Mona's Hands, as I have subtitled this, is my next mini masterpiece. The artist, this time, is Leonardo Da Vinci. The subject - the Mona Lisa. I dared not attempt to do the Mona Lisa in full! But her hands, that I thought I would challenge myself with.

Firstly, I have to say, Leonardo was the king of "lost edges." I have painted with them before, but never like this! Soft edges everywhere, nothing hard except for a few distinct lines between the hands & in the clothing. This took a bit of getting use to - I am use to definitive, hard edges.

Secondly, his color palette! I know that he mixed his own colors (and probably quite toxic in his day), but the dark, rich earth colors were a bit of a challenge to create. 

While working on this, I did a bit of research into the Mona Lisa painting and found some historians who wrote that the original colors for this painting were quite vibrant. Here are a few links if you're interested in reaching further:

http://www.lumiere-technology.com/Pages/News/news3.htm

http://digitalphotoalchemy.com/mona-lisa-in-original-colors/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculations_about_Mona_Lisa

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Artists Note: I am currently working on my website. I am loading more art pieces, and offering some as either on hardboard or matted & framed. If you haven't visited in a while, or even if you have, head over and see what's new. It's all very exciting!

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MMP Series #3 - Picasso's Jacqueline

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides
available via DPW auction click here

My next artist's mini masterpiece is one of Picasso's paintings: Jacqueline with Flowers - here is what the original looks like:

I chose to focus on the head, face & hair portion of this painting. The lines grabbed my attention, as did the long neck. I thought it would look great on the smaller, square format of the 6x6 canvas. 

At first, I thought this might be an easier painting to do than the Monet & Van Gogh I had previously done. But I obsessed with the colors in this. I know I can take creative license, and I don't need to follow the master exactly -- but -- there was a part of me that just did not agree. And so, I worked & reworked until I was happy.

A bit about Picasso & Jacqueline -- she was his second wife. They met when she was 27 & he was 72. They married years after that meeting & she became his most often painted female. Picasso died in 1973 (I remember the day). Jacqueline, sadly, killed herself in 1986.

MMP Series #2 - Van Gogh's Starry Night

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides
available via DPW auction click here

My first artist "love" was Vincent Van Gogh, and to this day, he is still one of my most admired artists. Hi explosion of color, rough brush strokes (not smooth like realistic painters), and the energy he gave his works -- all captured my young mind. I had wanted to paint just like Vincent! 

Of course, my style is not near the same, but I can not help but wonder "how does one paint that way?" So it made total sense that I would pick one of his works, and one of his most popular & famous pieces - Starry Night - to do in my MMP series. Although there are other Van Gogh's works that I love - it was this one that I first saw and fell in love with many years ago.

Again I have to say I am amazed by the amount of color in his work - when you squint & study the areas of his works, you find colors present that you never would have though would be there! But the eyes combine them & make it blend wonderfully.

MMP series #1 - Monet's A Woman in a Garden

6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

image wraps on 1-1/2 inch sides

NFS

This is the first of a series I have been meaning to do for quite some time - the Mini Master Pieces. MMP as I've nicknamed it, are small pieces of some of my favorite master artists works. I did this mini painting quite some time ago, and filed it in the back of my mind as a great start to a mini series where, rather than attempt to paint the entire image, I would focus on certain areas of some of the master's works that I love.

This piece is from Claude Monet's "A Woman in a Garden" painting, circa 1867, which is captioned as "a study on the effect of sunlight & shadow on colour." Here is a photo of the full original:

My rendition was, by no means, easy! I chose to focus on the center tree and the mounds of red flowers beneath it. Quite a challenge, but it taught me much on color next to color. And also the subtle differences that light does to the color of receding items. 

I had the pleasure of seeing this painting in person, many years ago in my college days. I had visited an impressionistic exhibit at the Whitney Museum in NY. I found the exhibit mildly interesting until I saw this one painting on a wall. I don't remember a single other painting from that day except for this one. I must have stood in front of it for a good 1/2 hour, just studying it. Photographs do not fully capture the light, the color & the shadows as he handled them. A wonderful piece of art! So it's no wonder that I chose to do a piece of this masterpiece. This proudly hangs on my wall in my studio - and never have I walked past it without smiling!

I am not sure how often I will add to this collection - I am hoping to continue with these mini's for quite some time. I have a lot of favorite artists & a lot of favorite works!