A Visionary Impressionist

Today’s Image

In the Studio

I finished my varnishing, for this round anyway. And I got started on my next project, an acrylic of a backyard garden from a family reference photo. I sketched out the main features, which include a terraced wall and a tree. I painted the sky using s mixture of Liquitex Basics Cerulean Blue and Winsor & Newton Galeria Titanium White. Then I started painting the wall using a mixture of Liquitex Basics Raw Umber, Van Gogh Warm Grey, and the W&N Titanium. I’m pleased so far and will keep you posted on progress. I used another digital image from my 'vault' for Today's Image. It's a pastel on paper, and called it Sunbaked.

In the Art Library

Friday has rolled around again, so I’m talking about an art book. I just finished reading this one on Wednesday, so thought I’d tell you about it. It’s called Manet The Visionary Impressionist by Henri Lallemand. It’s another large format, coffee table book with a beautiful jacket sleeve with his painting Argenteuil on the front cover. You’ve probably seen this painting. It’s the one with a man and woman sitting in a sailboat on a colorful summer day. The woman is on the left in a striped dress and fancy hat with white tie on it. The man is on the right half facing her, and he’s wearing a red striped T-shirt and a yellow hat with red band. It’s a beautiful painting.

In fact all the paintings are beautiful in the book, and it’s full of them; although I didn’t count, it must include every major work. There seems to be more artwork than text (fine by me), and the content is divided into Manet’s early work, his foray in Impressionism, his working with friends, and lastly still lifes and landscapes. He did a lot of portrait work, which I don’t think I had realized before. The still lifes of flowers in the last section are glowing. Look up his painting called White Lilacs. The caption in this book says the white petals shimmer…and they do.

With the large format of the book you can really get a good look at all the art. I bought the book used, but I’m thinking it must have been fairly expensive when new because the paper is thick and glossy coated, which makes the artwork shine. If you’re a fan of Manet, you should look for this in your library or (used) bookstore.

Cheers!