From the Artist: I thought the Red Studio by Matisse looked like something my 10-year-old granddaughter could have done. After working on my painting for four days, I have to admit that it was not quite so easy as I imagined. I still don't think my painting is very Matisse-like, however I had an absolutely great time painting it.
I started the background off in a bright turquoise, a color I love, then I switched to red to make it look more Matisse-like and finally this dark burgundy color which suites me better. The background is actually painted with the same interior acrylic house paint left over from my living room. I just darkened it with a little black paint and I was satisfied with the color. I painted a long skinny window because I love them they always look so French to me. I put colored bottles on the sills because I do collect them and I love to see the light shining through them.
I actually love the painting it was fun to do and a lot harder than I imagined so much so that it seemed the more I worked on it the more bottles of wine I painted into it. Some kind of a Freudian slip I suppose. I had an awful time stopping myself from adding shading, the beam from the light coming in the window, at one point I had a glob of pink paint dropping to the floor from that brush and palette on the table. It's almost like you had to unlearn the basics. Although the goal was "in the Matisse style", and I don't think I got it, I love the painting and I loved doing it and I plan on framing it.
From the Painting Guide: Delighted to hear that you had fun with this project, and are pleased with your result. You're not the only one to discover it's a style not as simple as it appears, and discovering what's actually involved rather than what you assume is involved is one of the reasons for doing a painting in the style of another artist.
Comparing it to Matisse's Red Studio, you rendered too many of the objects in full detail and color. There's nothing reduced to a mere outline other than the table. I would also add something to the large area of empty space in the bottom right. Compared to the rest of the composition, this area feels like it's lacking something.
I started the background off in a bright turquoise, a color I love, then I switched to red to make it look more Matisse-like and finally this dark burgundy color which suites me better. The background is actually painted with the same interior acrylic house paint left over from my living room. I just darkened it with a little black paint and I was satisfied with the color. I painted a long skinny window because I love them they always look so French to me. I put colored bottles on the sills because I do collect them and I love to see the light shining through them.
I actually love the painting it was fun to do and a lot harder than I imagined so much so that it seemed the more I worked on it the more bottles of wine I painted into it. Some kind of a Freudian slip I suppose. I had an awful time stopping myself from adding shading, the beam from the light coming in the window, at one point I had a glob of pink paint dropping to the floor from that brush and palette on the table. It's almost like you had to unlearn the basics. Although the goal was "in the Matisse style", and I don't think I got it, I love the painting and I loved doing it and I plan on framing it.
From the Painting Guide: Delighted to hear that you had fun with this project, and are pleased with your result. You're not the only one to discover it's a style not as simple as it appears, and discovering what's actually involved rather than what you assume is involved is one of the reasons for doing a painting in the style of another artist.
Comparing it to Matisse's Red Studio, you rendered too many of the objects in full detail and color. There's nothing reduced to a mere outline other than the table. I would also add something to the large area of empty space in the bottom right. Compared to the rest of the composition, this area feels like it's lacking something.