When I'm ten years old, my family moves to the Netherlands for two years as part of my dad's job. More than once we drive to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam to pick up family or friends who come to visit. On at least one of those occasions, when a flight is significantly delayed, my folks opt to visit the Rijksmuseum to fill the interim before we return to Schiphol. This might be my first visit to an art museum.
What a place to begin! I have vivid memories of the paintings of the Dutch masters whose works hang in the galleries there, dark dark backgrounds but with strong light illuminating faces and other details. I remember being drawn in to those paintings to explore them.
Now, all these years later, I am taking an Amanda Evanston art-of-abstract-faces course, and lesson 2 turns attention to what has become known as "Rembrandt lighting."
Way cool idea, but I study my chaos-layer-plus-blind-contour-drawing-start and think, Rembrandt?, really?
I can't imagine how I will complete this painting.
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| chaos-layer-plus-blind-contour-drawing-start |
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| The Friend Who Takes the Bus from NYC to Surprise Me With a Visit in College 9 x 12"; acrylic, ink, and oil pastel on drawing paper abstract face 2021 $70 |
11 comments:
Wonderful! So nice to know that you've been in 'the Rijks' yourself! I also LOVE Rembrandt with his wonderful contrasts.
I thought of you as I wrote this post, Simone, knowing that the Rijks must be quite familiar to you. It is fascinating to be the painter I am now, thinking back to the child I was in 1961 looking at paintings done by, among others, a man who lived in the 1600s. Wild stuff!
OMG! The transformation of this piece! WOWZERS!!!!!!!!!!!! Love it. "Dotty in flow" is one of my favorite things. :)
How this guy went from chinless to confidently-jawed I'll never know! Thanks for celebrating Dotty in flow and transformation, Jen!
Haha, last line. I am guessing you are right Dotty. Haha. :) WOW! Love your hearing about your first, and what a first!!! WOW! And this friend of yours, Classic! Dotty, you really are rocking these faces!! :)
Sheila, glad you noticed my closing line AND laughed with me! I look back at that first art museum experience and marvel at my parents —— we were living in a foreign country, my folks were in their very early thirties and had four young daughters in tow, ages 10, 8, 6, and 4!
Thx for your appreciation of my exploration into faces!
I’m sure Rembrandt likes your lighting. Well done!
PS I’m quite sure your friend would have startled me had he been at the Rijksmuseum with us!
I'm thinking Rembrandt would give me a nod for trying my wings, and perhaps offer me a tip or two —— though he might be perplexed by acrylic paint and Posca paint pens!
Do you have memories of the Ruijksmuseum and all the dark paintings?
Absolutely! It was fun reading this post.
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