On the Credit Score

A Nod to Jan

My current painting owes more than just a little bit to the genius of Jan Vermeer, and to his Little Street.

I think he needs to get the credit (but maybe he'd rather not).

In any event, since he's neither around to be thanked, or to protest, I've given him a nod at the tippy-top of my painting, on a tower that's behind the main buildings.

This is an oversize detail. The real bit is a mere .75 x .75" (1.9 x 1.9 cm). Still, it's there for all who have eyes to see. It's one of the monograms he used in signing his own work.

Thanks, Jan!

Figuring it Out

Jannetje Scrubs the Walk

Those of you who follow the blog know that I can't paint figures. Thus you will know that I struggled mightily with Jannetje, the sole figure so far in the large painting.

When I was a kid, there was a scouring powder of which Jannetje would have approved.

Eventually---when she's dry--- she'll get better modeled, and she'll get a bucket, some water, and a rag or a brush. 
(At the moment, it looks like Jannetje had a terrible accident to her right arm. Hope I can figure it out.)

I expect the painting will have at least one other figure, and probably a dog.

Color ain't right, as usual.

Scrub-a-dub-dub.

Patience Rewarded?

Sixty-Six Percent

If you've been following the last several posts about the 84" x 37" (213x94 cm) painting), and feeling that I've been curmudgeonly with the photographic slices I've been posting, you may be pleased to see the bottom two-thirds of the painting, about 60" x 37"---152x94 cm). Even this portion is hardly done, but you'll be able to spot the two previous slices.

As you will immediately see, the photo's a bit wacky, missing some sharpness and the color's not quite right. The painting, by the way, is designed to sit directly on the floor, and to be viewed, ideally at about ten feet.
But, if you're a blog-follower, you'll get the idea.

Paint well.

Another Detail

Another Slice

Here's another slice from the painting on the easel. I post them this way because the whole is in various states of disrepair.

This detail is about 30" x 8" (76x20 cm) from the 84" x 37" (213x94 cm) painting.

Are we in Holland yet?

Seems to me I always have a tilt, probably based on my right-handedness. Must deal with those issues tomorrow.

Just a Detail

From the Painting in Progress

Just a detail from the painting currently in progress. The canvas is 37" x 84" (94x213cm). This detail is about 6" x 10" (15x25cm).

Workin' hard.

 

Mixed Notices

 The Reviews are In!

A few notices from emails I've received recently:

Just a quick post to let you know how much your posts are appreciated. Your blog is the first thing I check every morning. ---Cognac, France

Just gotta tell you- your posts are like a "creative multi-vitamin" to my system. ---Bahama, North Carolina

Kindly unsubscribe me from you daily blog. ----Ipswich, Massachusetts 

                                     ****************
Actually, No, I'm not on Vacation

I've been working on a big project which is due in New York on October 1st. It's required a lot of planning, and now it's time for the paint. I promise I will blog about it, with photos, in the fullness of time. For now, just know I'm a busy fellow.

Today's post will have a number of unrelated items, beginning with a bit of press (from the Newburyport Current):

In talking with one of the students who attended the French Workshop, and in seeing the painting on which she was at work, I was put in mind of (Gaines) Ruger Donoho (1857-1916), an American painter who was born in Mississippi on the eve of the Civil War.  Here's his self-portrait from 1886.

While still very young, Donoho painted at Grez-sur-Loing, (Seine-et-Marne), a place about which I've posted in the past. 

There he painted what I think is his best work, La Marcellerie, in 1881 when he was 24.

La Marcellerie, Brooklyn Museum

It's a very large painting, measuring 51" x 76 9/16" (129.5 x 194.5 cm).
 
Subsequently Donoho was a founder and an important member of the art colony at the eastern end of Long Island.

                                     ******************

We held the last Weekend Workshop on Saturday and Sunday. We were visited by great weather, and I think some definite progress was made. 

There are no plans, currently, for more classes, or for future workshops, though there has been some whispering about a possible workshop in Tuscany. We'll have to see what interest there may be.

A number of folks have asked about the chance that we may have some plein air classes in the autumn. Let me know if that's something you might want to do. Please tell me if you'd prefer weekday or weekend sessions.

There are also some who are interested in a return of the Dead Paintings Society.

So, if you'd like to have some classes, re-start the DPS, or attend a workshop, please contact me(dbjurney@verizon.net)

Cheers. 

Thanks to L.H. for her kind comments about the French Sketchbook on www.blurb.com 

From the Vault of Time

A Number of Paintings from the Archive

Not sure what to blog tonight, so I'll just supply some paintings from the archive.

Muffin and Cup (1986?)

Marsh, 2006, 36x54" 90x135cm

Evening in Spring, 1982?, 20"x30" ? (50x75cm ?)

 Lest you think it only happens to you, here's a 28x42" (70x105cm) painting that ultimately was destroyed. I have this photo (below) of a happier state before its early demise. I don't remember what went wrong.

Morning, 2010?, probably 30" x 46" (70x105cm) Destroyed

Pasture by the Sea, 2007, 30x46" (70x115cm)

 

Pub with Drinkers, 1986, prob. 10"x12" (25x30cm)

Lane in Seguret (Vaucluse), 1987, 10x12" (25x30cm)

Sketch after Breughel, 1982

Shall I say it again? 

Try all sorts of things!