Tuesday, November 07, 2006

More George

The third evening working on this painting, and this is what it looks like.
It will in fact be done by tomorrow, leaving 2 days to dry. It's a curious substrate to work on. It's a light raw cotton that was heavily laquered. The laquer seals the fibers, but the paint still goes through the surface. The laquer also stifens the fibres and makes them abrasive so it's pretty hard on brushes.

The cotton originaly part of some older pie
ces, from a YYZ show.

At the bottom of this post is the painting I am copying - Which itself turns out to be a copy - (and not a terribly good one at that), of a Willian Beechey, painted in 1800. Mine of course is by far the least well executed painting.




























Monday, November 06, 2006

Whole lot-o-George

A couple of stages along the way... King George III, whom I am painting as a piece for the King's War of 1812 Re-enacting group I belong too, for the annual King's Regimental Mess dinner.

It seems that at one of the real 8th Regiment's dinners while they were stationed in Quebec during the War of 1812, they had a lavish display set up for their guests, complete with a life size transparency of the King, lit from behind by candals... It's entirely possible that theirs was, like this, a copy of Beechey's 1800 portrait of George III. It was copied a number of times. Presumably as an official portrait. I Know if I was king, I sure as heck wouldn't want to be sitting for a new portrait every time they opened a nwe government office, so I get one good one done up and hire a competant but less expensive portraitist to churn out copies. Not that HRH George III did that, but I've come across several versions of this painting by lesser masters than Sir Beechey. In each the King is in s different setting.


I have until the 11th to finish this. I'll post a photo of it after I'm done, and when it is set up at the mess.

I think it may look rather wreched if it is only lit from behind, because it is hard to judge the transparency of the paint. We shall see.

It's good practice.