Art Appreciation

Art Appreciation, 24x30, oil on linen panel. Available

Today we are visiting the Brooklyn Museum of Art during the 2013 John Singer Sargent exhibit. For the most part I was busy looking at the art as I was so taken in by his work. Stunning. I went around 2-3 times to absorb as much as I could. There was approximately 100 works owed by the Brooklyn and Boston museums. This was the first time these 2 collections had been shown together. We were allowed to take photos which isn’t always the case at a museum. That is when I started to notice some of the people around me, and this painting is the result of that.

It is not good practice to paint from life or from photos that have multiple light sources as this scene most obviously suffers from. Since I liked the overlapping reds that the cast shadows made on the bright orange wall I decided to go for it and break that rule. The movement they create is almost like a dance. I also loved the body language of these three museum goers and how they were each framed with their own Sargent picture. One of those “perfect can’t make it up” moments. I love it when that happens!

I know I have mentioned this in a recent blog post but some things bear repeating. Another John Singer Sargent show is coming to NYC this summer and if you will be out that way, I highly recommend you go. This one will be at the Metropolitan Museum of Art so you can go to Central Park as well. Such a deal!