The 30 Day Recap, Part 1

Young Girl Braiding her Hair by Edgar Degas painted in 1894. I painted this one with a palette knife and learned: simplification always works to distill an image. The focus was the color around the relative large shape.

Dining Room in the Country by Pierre Bonnard painted in 1913. What I learned: cropping must be carefully and thoughtfully done. I wanted to include the figure and the door from the original painting but had to narrow the view through the door to fit my format. I feel this made my painting too much about verticals and then had to try to adjust that in the abstract. This abstract adheres most closely to the original. Be bold!

The Hotel Room by Edward Hopper 1933. I stayed with the palette knife and again felt somewhat challenged by the choice of my square format. The abstract didn't flow as the two previous days had and I learned: Every day in the studio is different and so what? Just get into the studio!

Woman in a Window by Richard Diebenkorn 1957. Happier with my format and composition, both paintings just seemed to flow with minimal effort. What I learned: it may be my hand, but remember to thank the painting gods.

Nude Woman Drying Her Feet by Edgar Degas 1885-6. Enjoying the painting process here and thoroughly surprised by the abstract. Since I am in many ways a very cerebral painter,  I learned: Trust the process and don't second guess myself.

Kids on Bikes by David Park 1950. I've always enjoyed the group of Bay area painters to which Park belonged and the strange perspective of this painting. Again, the abstract came into being of its' own accord! I learned to: try out color combinations I am not normally attracted to. This is actually a big overall lesson from the challenge and from looking at other painters palettes.

Excursion at Sea by Pierre Bonnard 1924. I love the palette of this painting and noticed how calming the colors were, both to look at and to paint with. The whimsy of the abstract totally surprised me and I learned: Don't take yourself so damn seriously! Have more fun with painting.