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Flowers
Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son
Tuesday, April 8, 2014, was the fifth day of copying Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son. I love the atmosphere in the Impressionist Galleries. Everyone has been searching for spring this year and we just haven’t been able to find it. However, in the Impressionist Galleries, it’s always spring and I love being there! Visitors are happy and the mood is grand. I can feel electricity in the air when folks enter the galleries to view the magnificent works of Monet, Renior, Cezanne, VanGogh, Picasso, etc. Color explodes inside these rooms and I enjoy every minute I’m there. This is my second copy of Woman with a Parasol. It was so much fun copying it the first time that I decided to produce a second copy, and try to make it even more perfect. But mostly I am simply excited at being in that room.
Monet favored painting landscapes – a subject that was attuned to outdoor painting. Impressionism evolved in the late 1860’s from a desire to create full-scale, multi-figure depictions of ordinary people in casual outdoor situations. It is believed that Claude Monet painted Woman with a Parasol in just 4 hours, very spontaneously as is evident particularly in the clouds and conveyed by a repertory of animated brushstrokes of vibrant color. Bright sunlight shines from behind Madame Monet making her appear in silhouette while color reflections from the wildflowers below touch her front with yellow.
This is the perfect time to visit the National Gallery of Art. The cherry blossoms will be in full bloom within days and spring has decided to finally pay us a visit bringing an abundance of color inside and out. I’m in gallery 85 every Tuesday. Come by and say hello!
New Copy – “Woman with a Parasol”
On Tuesday, March 12th I began a new copy, Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son by Claude Monet 1875. Landscape painting was a subject that Monet favored. His skill as a figure painter is equally evident. Monet delieneated the features of his sitters as freely as their surroundings. He painted in a very spontaneous manner, outdoors, and probably in a single session with the intention to convey the feeling of a casual family outing rather than a formal portrait. It is believed that he painted this masterpiece in about four hours. The brevity of the moment portrayed is conveyed by a repertory of animated brushstrokes of vibrant color with the clouds being the most difficult to replicate because of the freedom and spontaneity of the brushstrokes and his style. I often wonder what Monet was thinking as he painted Woman with a Parasol. In this case I think that Madame Monet is saying, “Claude, hurry it up, its windy up here.”
Woman with a Parasol is one of Monet’s most popular works and attracts a great deal of visitors to the National Gallery of Art. I enjoy the opportunity to be able to speak and discuss this masterpiece with the public.
Vincent van Gogh Roses in Pink
Many may not realize that Vincent van Gogh created several versions of “Roses”. The masterpiece created by VanGogh, “Roses” that is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. was painted in 1890, shortly before he was released from the asylum at Saint-Remy. It is among his largest and most beautiful still lifes, with an exuberant bouquet in the glory of full bloom.
Originally, the roses were pink which would have made a beautiful compliment with the green background. However, the pink has faded throughout the years. It is difficult to determine which roses and how many were originally pink. I am in the process of copying this piece for the second time. The first time I copied it just as the it looks today. For the second try, after doing some research, I took the liberty of painting it in the manner that I believe van Gogh created the original–with the pink roses. After careful observation, I decided that the flowers that have the slightest tinge of pink were probably the ones that he painted in pink. It’s been fun to see how this painting has evolved and how it will end up. It should be completed in about one more session.
One can view the original creation as well as my copy on Tuesdays from 10:30 AM until about 4:00 PM in the Impressionist Gallery #83.
Sonia Gadra 
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