Masters Study – Vincent Van Gogh

“Can anything be sadder than work unfinished? Yes, work never begun.”
– Christina Rossetti

Masters Study – Vincent Van Gogh

2.5″ x 3.5″  ATC – Gouache on Art Spectrum Colourfix

When I first started painting, again after a 30 year absence,  I joined an ATC exchange on WetCanvas where we studied the Masters.  I learned so much in this swap, because I have no formal art training.  I understood why they were the Masters while I was studying their paintings.   I did these in early 2008.  Since I haven’t been able to paint much in the last few days, I thought I would share some of these ATCs.  The original Van Gogh painting is here.

I had a great lesson with my new flight instructor yesterday.  I have renewed hopes for actually getting my private pilot’s license.  YAY!

About Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti, the Victorian era English poet, is known for the melancholy themes in such poems as “Goblin Market” and “When I Am Dead.” She was born in 1830 in London to Italian-born parents. Her father was poet Gabriele Rossetti and her brother was the painter/poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. She rejected two marriage proposals because, although she loved both men, neither shared her religious devotion. According to her brother, she wrote effortlessly and rapidly. She died in 1894.

Old House in Bethville

“Were the diver to think on the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl.”
– Saadi

Old House in Bethville

7″ x 10″ Watercolor

The reference (by ddpatterson at WetCanvas) for this painting was an old, crumbling house.  I had a great time rehabbing it!  There were no pens used for the outlines, just a wee little brush.

I am late getting to my blog today, because I actually got to fly this morning.  I found a new flight instructor, in Muskogee.  I haven’t flown in 2 months, so it was wonderful getting back up there.  Can you hear me “whoo-hoo-ing” from there? 

About Saadi

Saadi was a Persian moralist poet best known for Gulistan (The Rose Garden), which combines prose and verse, and Bustan (The Fruit Garden), which includes histories, anecdotes, and fables. He was born in 1291 and lived in Shiraz in what is now Iran. For 30 years, he traveled throughout the Middle East, including Turkey, Egypt, and Arabia. One of his most famous poems adorns the entrance to the Hall of Nations at the UN building in New York. He died when he was 107 years old.