Chaim Soutine - The Pastry Chef - Copying the Masters

November 8, 2014 ~ The High Museum

This picture cracks me up, but it also reminds me why I love capturing moments on Insta. I remember this like it was yesterday. The security guard was watching us like a hawk, and not too long after this, we went back to the museum and the security guard said, "Heeeey, I remember you!" Anyway, this was the day I fell in love with Chaim Soutine. I was already head over heels with Scott :)

With a break in my art classes I decided to tackle a major project. I knew copying Soutine's Pastry Chef would not be easy, but I think I seriously underestimated it. So many layers of colors and textures!

Here's the progression ** this is still a work in progress **

Got really frustrated here and decided to smooth out everything, which basically turned this into an underpainting (see below). As luck would have it, this was the right thing to do because it helped put down a base of color on which to build.

 I stopped here so I could sleep on it and regroup for the next day.

The next morning I woke up, studied some of my favorite artists: Jordan Casteel, David Bates. Jordan paints the most beautiful folds in clothes I've ever seen. Look at those pants, y'all. Gorgeous.

I also watched a few YouTube videos on palette knife painting to refresh my memory and so I could focus on next steps.

Then I went upstairs to our studio and knocked out my man's hat.

Yes, things were starting to click :)

I'm going to let this dry, do a little more research, get a little more inspiration, then get back to it over the weekend.