Salon Challenge #7 - thinking of Pierre Bonnard

Teri's b&w value test - scroll to the end view larger unedited photo

Note: This is a longer post, guys. 

Make a cup of tea, grab a lemonade or a beer and have a read.

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Salon Challenge #7

(Barbara's turn)

A painting from memory; referencing sketches made from life, 

but not painting from those sketches ... must be from memory of them,

and must contain these elements:

1 - A woman wearing a hat

2 - A night café

3 - A floral still-life painting in the scene

4 - The conveyance of music

5 - Canvas size, at least 10 x 8, no squares

6 - Unlimited palette

(add a cat if it works out for you - extra credit!)

Barbara also suggested that we might look

at  Pierre Bonnard's work -

 try to use pattern and flatten the picture plane a bit, 

and maybe even warp the perspective like he did.

I began by observing women in hats while on a trip visiting family

and I made lots of sketches.

My final sketch to try to paint was this:

Have you painted after you had been sketching? 
One thing about Bonnard was that he was a mad sketcher 
and sketched wherever and whenever he could.
Apparently he pretty much did not paint from life. 
He mostly used his sketch ideas.

This is the first time I have painted a figure in a made-up scene, 

I think ...

For my first painting, to be honest, 

I forgot that the scene 

was to be in a night cafe! AND

I forgot the music element (totally forgot it

for this painting ... I will have it in for a bigger one! ... see update below).

So I had to go back to sketching 

to make it so ...

and I grabbed a new (small) canvas and began again.

These are my progress shots:

I decided to make the table at the bottom right a "bar" or counter
but wasn't sure about it,
so I put a clear acetate sheet over the painting
and tried it out (also added the light shimmers).

As you can see in the photo above, I did do it but not sure it was a good idea.

The following photos are from our reveal.

The paintings are possibly still WIP's, so

be aware they might be worked on further.

Timi wasn't sure about her first iteration 

so she picked up another canvas 

and went at it again.

Closing Time       22 x 28 inches      oil on canvas
by Timi Johnson

 The following photos are of Timi's progress

as she worked on her challenge. (I am forgetting which one she finished first,
the big or the little one ...)

Timi's sketch

Set Break   12 x 15 inches   oil on panel
by Timi Johnson

Timi's style is here in its glory - her cats, the figure, 
the colors and paint work - so nice!
In both paintings!
And there is mystery in both, maybe a bit more in the dark one.

Patrick has made some recent changes; here are his progressions.

Patrick's initial drawing

Patrick's first version

Chaos at the Lapin Agile        24 x 36 inches      acrylic on canvas
by Patrick Ripp

I think this version is great. Love the title! 
We all liked the glow on the cats, 
and the mischievous one hanging from (and completely disrupting!) 
the still life painting that was nicely hanging on the wall!
Why did the cats have a wild party?

Waiting for Bonnard         30 x 24 inches       oil on canvas
by Barbara Shepherd

We all agreed that Barbara's painting hit many of Bonnard's approaches; 
 the half view of a still-life painting,
the (spoiler-alert!) hard to see cat, 
the moody figure,
the unbalanced windows ... what is going on here?
That is what I like in a painting too.
When there is a mystery the painting is just that much more intriguing.

All paintings together

As you can see, my little 12 x 9 inch painting really is kind of asking to be bigger! 

So I am embarking on the project 
to make a bigger painting of the same scene ... 
that should be interesting ... 
I'm concerned but also excited by the prospect. 

Before fixes 

Update of this post. 
I worked on this painting, originally planned to make a large painting of this, 
but have changed my mind and will leave as is. 

The changes were:
1 - Add a music inference (which I forgot to do originally) of the guitar
2 - "Fix" the hat to have her actually wearing it, instead of it floating

(and I retitled it)

Until the Wee Hours     oil on canvas board    12 x 9 inches
by TGRobus

Beauty of a frame by MHRobus :)

We have learned quite a bit with this challenge; painting out of 
your head is quite different than plein air, or still life, or portrait painting. I think all of our paintings held a mystery, or a story. Love that!

Thanks so much for following our progress with these challenges.

One more to go and then we have been granted

a group show at Juneau's Art & Humanities Council Gallery 

this September! ! ! (opening is First Friday - Sept 6th)

Save the date! ... we will be sending notices

to family and friends soon.

🎨