Master copies After William Bouguereau*Work in progress....Oil on paper/canvas
 

Hello everyone, I've always admired Bouguereau since I was 21 years old...
One of my modern artist collegues once called me a "chocolate painter" because of my admiration for the man's work. Kept saying that his work was too smooth, not painterly like or whatever...

Anyway, WB paintings were intimidating to me, I never dared to copy him in oil....only in drawings or colored pencils..which i at the time used to copy a rembrandt, but that would be me sidetracking again.

He's still intimidating, but I've been learning to put it aside for this master copy I'm in progress of doing this week, I needed to learn from this painting.

So the painting I'm copying is the painting of "Madame la Comtesse de Cambaceres" painted in 1895. I'm painting it from a highquality photoprint...dimentions are 20x27.5cm
My Painting is also 20x27.5cm.

Close up
 

This is what Is what I've painted so far. I wish I had the original to paint from but ... :)

This is my painting.
I always try and study a paintings composition to understand it 1st before I paint it, it helps me with placement, the more I understand the painting the more I could paint it intuitively.

Muhammad,

I think Mr. B. would approve. His painting is exquisite and yours looks to be dead on.

Your choice of oil on paper is an interesting one. Would you explain for us your reasoning for this combination of materials? It wasn't Bouguereau's choice, was it?

I like your approach to color!

Mike: Thank you very much I sure do hope so, his painting is exquisite and I wish I knew more about his technique.
What I know is that he painted this painting on canvas dimentions were 90x121cm
(35.43"x3' 11.64")

I chose paper for a couple of reasons, 1st I wanted to put a painting in my sketchbook, I thought it would be a good idea to have quite a few paintings in there instead of sketchs to show to clients, I thought it would have a good impression.
2nd if anything goes wrong I could always turn the page and start over :))

I prepared the paper 1st with a white gesso primer Winsor&Newton, paper would absorb too much oil so I figured if I use a primer it would be better.

Michele: Thank you, glad you like it, I thought a colorful approach would be more fiting to add life, and to help me in the finish :)

I'd never even heard of William Bouguereau before until this year. How embarrassing is that?! An absolute consumate master and he seems to have been retrospectively reduce to a kind of pantomime "baddy" in the story of impressionism.

Copy's looking good so far, have you done any more work on it since you posted this? I would say that you've exaggerated the chroma a bit, but I'm sure you're aware of that and are just feeling your way at the moment. Besides which, I think it's better to start with the colours too strong and bring them down, rather than try to bring them up when they're to dull.

You might have seen this article before, but it contains some little snippets of information about his technique. Might be of help.

http://www.artrenewal.org/articles/T...EREAUpage1.php

Article
 

Lol, well I Forgot about this article completely, It was wiped from my memory because of 3D.
Man those little snippets on page 3 are quite awsome, of course I won't find some of these materials here in Egypt so I'll just have to order them I geuss.
I wouldn't have known anything about him if it weren't for a book I found in the AUC bookstore here in cairo...
The things some of his contemporary art critics said about him were just comical...and sad.

No I havn't done any work on it since I posted this for a few reasons,
1st the paint texture was bothering me so I needed to soften it or make the surface smooth enough and I wasnt really sure how to approach it.

2- When I tried to oil out a few areas the Oil just acts as if it was like water on an oily surface which was strange, I did not use any waterbased pigments in there.

And I got a bit busy with a couple of portraits, one of them was finished yesterday.

I think I'll use Bouguereau's approach with the pallet knife for the paint texture. thanks dude for telling me about the article that was very helpful :)

I do tend to exaggerate the chroma a bit when I paint, I feel better about the painting when I do that VS painting it dull and it is much easier to just glaze over them to bring them down,
And layers beneath influence the glazed colors above them so I tend to do it always when I'm building up my painting layers.

I'll be working on this pretty soon and I'll post its latest progress.

Portrait de Mlle Brissac, Dimentions 20.5cmx25cm
 

I'll be working on the 1st painting later. I've decided to start a new one that I'll be updating on a regular basis....I've been busy with other freelance projects but now I've managed to take sometime for myself....ISA I'll be posting many other Bouguereau studies on this thread, I have decided to study his paintings, It was a little guessing game I used to play with myself in my head without practical application, but now I think is as a good a time as any.

I started this one as I did the other from a high quality print of the painting, only this time I used canvas. The yellow of the canvas is cold pressed linseed oil applied thinly and left to dry, then I applied a thin glaze of burnt umber/burnt sienna and some yellow ochre. After that I used turpentine very few, just enough to dampin my brush and then started to lay in the main masses/areas of the painting. 2nd stage I started to paint in secoundary details with burnt umber, burnt sienna & some yellow ochre.

When that stage was done I left it to dry then applied another thin glaze of burnt umber and then started painting with Flake white...I used very little/no medium at this stage, It was all about brush pressure and the thin layer of burnt umber beneath.

Here are the progress pictures

Detail
 

So that you may see a better preview ....

This is looking awesome so far. Looking forward to seeing it progress!

Update
 

Thank you Terri, glad you like it :)

As promised this is a small update, I had to steal a few hours for myself from 6 -10 am...
When I have more time I'll be working on the rest.
Hope you all enjoy.

Update
 

Sorry I'm late, I had my hands full with a few digital sketches....and I've just become a father :D
Back to our painting, I've worked on the head , shoulders, the book and the rest of the dress..
I think I'll build up the couch she's sitting on tomorrow...
I've used a mixed blue for the dress basically French Ultramarine, cobalt blue, soft mixing white, some Rose madder and Payne's grey...very few.
The medium was a mixture of clarified linseed oil+drying linseed oil+Dammar varnish 2 drops+1 drop of white sicative+ 1 drop turpentine.
The amount could very depending on what I want...

so far mainly this mixture dries fairly quick, not too quick, has good flow and the dried paint layer is not sticky/tacky to the touch.
I didn't get this from a book I was just experimenting with some mixtures. And I did not use too much of it..just enough to sketch out and fill in areas of color fast & smooth. Then it was mostly color and brush pressure as before.
I know I'm taking my time with this, but it just helps me with my learning.

And here are the pictures....

Mu . . . am I seeing a grisaille approach in the flesh of this painting? If so, can you say, in general terms, your approach to doing this kind of work. Looks great.

Well yes sir, sure I can :)
I think yeah it is grisaille in the flesh...and it's my 1st time using this approach..
The skin seemed so luminous and alive on WB painting..I thought I should instead focus on copying that effect instead of trying to copy color...
I chose flake white because I knew it was a transparent color and would give me the effect I needed, also the layering was Important in the 1st stages..I made sure that the drawing had the colors I needed so that when I paint my white the colors beneath would effect the white above.
Since the drawing was dry and I wanted some of that old master gray..
I glazed the painted drawing with burnt umber then started applying my white using brush pressure..and I applied another layer when needed.

When Lewis showed me that article ARC I thought that if I do this and then glaze the colors later over it, it would lead me to a good result..
So I started this one like this to put the theory to the test.

I'm glad you like it Richard I hope I've aswered your question with a good answer..if you want to ask any more questions I'd be glad to answer them.

Yes, I do like it. Waiting to see more progress shots.

You might be interested in this site: http://www.bartner.nl/index2.html He does most of his work like this, and has a couple of demos on his site.

Keep 'em coming . . .

Update
 

:) Thank you Richard, it really was an interesting site and it put some things into perspective for me.
I was planing on using Titanium white or zinc for the final layer of her dress later to make things a little colder as mine so far is warm.

I've realised that I needed to make a few corrections, I know some of them are millimeters in size but if they are doable than why not..some major changes that are half a cm are going to be too much ....

Anyway...I've painted some of her dress's blue ribbons those were pretty interesting as I've used a big brush to sketch them cat toung then i used a W&N series16 round sable size 2 to paint the rest course that part was time consuming... I had to be carful & methodical painting that small.
Well here are some progress shots and a couple of detail shots.

Update
 

Hi :)
Last time I wanted to talk a bit more about this technique, I wanted to elaborate on what Richard had shown me but I couldn't...
I like Mr Bartner's nudes... and in those his technique is quite evident. He uses his whites to model everything even hair...which was a bit of a surprise to me and seemed a bit over the top, nevertheless It had good results & was very enlightning.
In my afternoons in the faculty library when I was 19, I got to know a few things about old master techniques from a very old book....I learned that Sir Joshua Reynolds used to apply a large sum of white pigment where his portraits would be then paint in his portraits wet in wet, the portrait at that stage had a cloudy effect..if my memory is correct..
Also Rubens..in some of his beautiful studies I remember seeing figures and horses painted with umber and white...
Gainsborough also did a portrait of Mrs Thomas Gainsborough which was in white and gray. On a yellow brownesh background.
These were all of course painted beautifully....and it seems that even WB in a head study of a girl did something similar.
In this copy I'm not so sure if I'm on the right track but so far so good, I've been learning a lot from this and remembering a lot.

Back to our painting, I've done some edits, painted most of her dress, I've added another layer of white, bluesh mixed white and some purplish mixed white over her chest area. Both whites were mixed with soft mixing white, alizarine & ultramarine.
To the far right of her dress I did a series of glazes to paint that area, I've also sketched out the couch, glazed some purple over the ribbons, painted most of thier folds , painted the book, made some adjustments to the head and painted some of her hair.

I've adjusted my light to take a better picture of the painting, and here are some progress shots hope you all like it.

More!

Wonderful!

Corrections
 

Hi :)
Sorry I'm late :)
Lewis, Michele, Thank you guys so much :)
I've been busy Zbrushing a digital sculpture for a job...took some time...anyway I've managed to take away a couple of hours to make some corrections...
I moved her left arm (our right) a bit to the left and started making corrections on her left sleeve, basically repainting it with bluish/purplish whites and titanium white.
Also there are some corrections that need to be done on her right sleeve and arm they need to go a little bit to the left (our right)...
Job is done elhamdulilah... so ISA I'll be posting another update soon...since I'm making corrections, I've decided to make a new palette and start working on everything.

I've added a comparison photo to illustrate the corrections I've made.
It's a small update but I hope you all like it.

Really enjoying seeing the progress on this!

:d
 

I'm glad you do Terri :)
I was just checking your website...nice work :)

I have been editing the previous post, changing the last picture everytime I work(I've so little time to work on it everyday..small updates are too small for a new post)..just thought the next time I post, it would be when I start working on her portrait :)

Details
 

Hi :)
Here Ill be posting the latest update on my painting, since I've worked on the hands and the book I thought I should post some detail shots so that everyone would be up to date on how the painting is looking so far up close there is a lot of detail work I've painted that was just not visible in the previous posts, ISA tomorrow I'll start building up the portrait.
I've changed my medium (the previous one had too much oil) I used stand oil turpentine and dammar varnish 1-1-1 and as for the glaze I used the same contents only 4 times the amount of turpentine. Got it from Robert Massey's book.
I've been skumbling the tones of her right hand (our left) to build them up gradually, gave me some degree of control in that very tiny area specially in the fingers.
This has been one tough experience and I've been learning a lot from it..hopefully when I repaint it again I'll be much faster.... jk

Hope you all enjoy

The Portrait stage 1
 

Hello, it's been a while I was busy again...zbrushing a full anatomy study does take some time plus the other portraits I've been working on which I'll be posting in this thread too right after this one...:)
Anyway I managed to play today and after fooling around with this for 4-5hours straight I decided to call it quits for today and post, there is still more to do to get the likeness right but ISA I'll be working on stage 2 next time..

I hope you all like it :)

Portrait of Gabrielle Cot After William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
 

I had to stop working on the other one, I was busy with a 3D project.
It took me a long time working on the previous copy, the slow careful approch is just too slow...I learned a lot from it but I'd rather not do that again if I ever want a career in painting.
So I decided to start a new one this week...less mind more instinct.
This was more fun and less restrictive, basically you paint with the idea that if you make a mistake you can always paint over it or move things around if the paint is still wet.
The picture I painted from is not the best so I had to rely on some logic placement of color values and layers, in short I improvised.

I'll get back to the previous portrait right after this one.
Size is 4x6in 10x15cm.

Looking great. if I'm being picky, I'd say you might have overstated the half-tones a little, based on a comparison with the reference you've posted (but that may be a bit washed out in the photo). In particular, if say the planes of the nose look a bit hard edged, I think because the highlight tells a little too strongly against its half-tones. Also, on the cheek I think you could do with turning the form a little closer to the jaw. Of course, I'm actively searching for things to criticise here - it's a lovely piece of work. I always find it easier to spot these kinds of error in other people's work than in my own. Don't know what that says about me!

You tend to forget to view your work in front of a mirror don't you? :)

I do that a lot, only this time I tried not to, then I discovered that I painted my ear instead of hers :) its obvious on picture number 2.

It's funny how our minds play tricks on us...
You are absolutely right, I did notice these things also the orientation of the eyes is a bit off and her eyebrows left one(our right) needs adjusting also the corners of the mouth and the lower lip need adjusting I think I'll adjust those when I systematically apply a glaze over the face and start building up those flesh tones again.
I'm trying to work on everything and not stay in one place, also trying to stay as far from the painting as possible at this point so that my strokes would land on the right places.

Thank you man for choosing to be picky with the painting I'm glad you did.

I've had a mirror in a stand sitting behind my easel for many years. I use it every day. It's a must. I forget which old master it was who used to say, "let your mirror be your teacher."

hmmm. gotta get me a mirror.... (not that I was unaware of the trick - I've just never gotten round into the habit of doing it.)

I'm not sure either but he was right...I tend to be content with myself at the beginning until I view my work in the mirror and and discover horrors :)

I Don't have the space to set it up, but I had to remind myself to look in one, I should probably do the same and buy me a small one.

btw, there are times when you cannot use a mirror, like in landscape,
Also I think its a useful tool, but there are times that when it is necessary to be able to judge correctly without it.
Sometimes when you are enjoying the process of painting a lot it seems from my end that using a mirror would be like a pause to the process.

Small update
 

She's close enough at this point, I'll have to work more on her hair, dress & jaw, might add a few finishing touches here and there then declare it finished.
Until next time.

I hope you all like it.

Many artists also own a small hand mirror. The reason I got the stand-up mirror and placed it about 10 feet behind my easel is that it is easier to glance over my shoulder than to reach for the hand mirror, turn around, position myself and the mirror, and then re-hang the mirror and go on working. But I keep my hand mirror handy hanging on the frame of my easel. Also, another big plus for positioning a mirror behind your easel is that it effectively doubles your distance so far as viewing your work in reverse. If your mirror is 8 feet behind you, it has the effect of letting your view your work from 16 feet.

I haven't thought about it like that...I've always walked as far away as possible and just kept staring at my paintings...
That is totally very very useful thank you Richard.