I tackled a Renoir painting in my latest attempt to imitate the masters. “Tackled” feels about right. More on that later.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir lived from 1841 to 1919, a French artist who was a leader in the development of the Impressionist style of painting. His father was a tailor who moved his family to Paris in 1844 in hopes of finding a better living. Young Renoir was naturally talented at drawing, but (to my surprise) had an even greater talent for singing. Renoir took music lessons but had to quit at age 13 due to financial constraints. He became an apprentice in a clay factory at that time.
At age 21 he began studying art under Charles Gleyre in Paris, but still struggled to afford paint over the next years. By 1874 (age 33), he collaborated with artists like Monet and Pissarro to put on the First Impressionist Exhibition. By 1879 he had achieved success and some renown as an artist.
Later in life he developed rheumatoid arthritis, which eventually affected his ability to paint. He died at the age of 78 in 1919.
A Girl with a Watering Can was painted in 1876, an oil painting on canvas. It was apparently painted in Claude Monet’s garden, the little girl possibly a neighbor of Renoir’s. It is on exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
Getting the proportions right continues to elude me, but since this painting was in the impressionist style, it left me some wiggle room for interpretation. As always, it is well nigh impossible to achieve the same effect with watercolor as an oil painting (at least for me). I labored the longest on mixing just the right color blue for the girl’s dress. Couldn’t get the facial colors or her expression right, though. I ended up being fairly pleased with how the lacy part of her dress turned out (but don’t look too closely at it).
This is my sixth painting in this series…and it might be my last. At the very least, I will be taking a break before going on with the next group of six.
If you’ve been following this series, which one was your favorite so far? Here they are again, to refresh your memory:
I think my favorite was Durer’s hare.
Au revoir!
I’ll probably be imitating deleting this in the morning.
Lynniebeemuseoday 