Vermeer's "The Lace Maker"

Vermeer's "The Lace Maker"

Vermeer's original

Another Challenge from

Paint & Draw Together

When I saw this picture as a challenge I dismissed it right away!
The original is approx 8 x 8 and hangs in the Louvre.
Vermeer is famous for using something called a Camera Obscura and made his paintings beautifully clear and detailed.
This one is different not so detailed but still has the feeling almost similar to the idea of being abstract especially on one side of the subject. The more I looked the more it told me to try and work on it. I loved the deep blues and greens of the material and the challenge of the concentration on the young girl as she works on the lace, her fingers working so delicately on her work. The light coloured background is unusual too.

Babs' version oil on board 8x8

Anyway it has certainly kept me in a state of complete concentration with many frustrating breaks away: the angle of he face and hardly much detail eyes cast down and a dark nose and lips cast in shadow,
Phew I have learned a lot on this one patience, and definitely frustration it all goads us on though to do better.
Babs

When I saw Babs working on this I thought I'll whip one off" and get back into painting again. Well I did get back into painting, but hardly "whipped" it off!
I paint quite loose and frequently leave the undercoat showing through, not allowed on this one first try looked awful, and funnily enough I couldn't see the faults until I looked at a photo.

John's Version oil on board 8x8

Another mistake was that I did a brown undercoat, it would have been better blue to get the cold light of the original.
Tis done and now back to trees and a lake!
John