In their style | Vincent Van Gogh

Copying a painting is and has always been a powerful learning tool. The goal behind copying is to learn new techniques and ultimately develop your own style of art. Many artists such as Edgar Degas and Pablo Picasso have used this process to develop their techniques before moving on to their own original work. By simply looking at a painting it can be hard for an artist to learn a new skill. When you start copying a painting you can unpick their processes, strokes and palettes, in a way which gives you a far deeper understanding of the piece. Another benefit of this practice is that the conversion of 3D to 2D has already been made for you, really allowing you to concentrate on replicating the piece.

So, bearing this all in mind I'm starting a new series where I will be experimenting with different artistic styles, beginning with a painting of one of the favourites: Vincent Van Gogh.

Pencil sketch of Vincent Van Gogh. 2023.

Gogh is well known for his dramatic brushstrokes and strong colour choices. He was heavily influenced by Japanese prints resulting in him painting dark outlines around objects. Gogh took inspiration from his friend at the time, Paul Gauguin. Gogh started to follow his practice of painting by memory. From this, Goghs paintings became more attractive and less realistic. He started using colours to capture the mood rather than the using them accurately and realistically. Van Gogh didn't paint in the traditional, 'correct' way - he didn't blend his brushstrokes, he used paint straight out of the tube and he liked using his imagination to capture things which weren't even there.

Post-card sized portrait in Goghs style. 2023.

The process of painting in Gogh style was rather difficult for me. I matched the type of brush that he was known to use - a flat, filbert brush. I did however start much too small and had to switch to a larger version so that my brushstrokes remained bold and to avoid getting caught up in the details. And although I used acrylic where he used oil let me tell you, having to resist blending and smoothing it all out was probably the hardest part. I attempted to use a limited palette, much like Gogh would have (Oil paints were even more expensive back in the day) and exaggerated the colours.

All in all, I really enjoyed this little experiment. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me appreciate the more abstract style (which I'm notoriously bad at). I will definitely be using aspects of this style in my pieces going forward - I loved his use of bold colours and imaginative development.

"The beginning is perhaps more difficult than anything else, but keep heart, it will turn out all right" - Vincent Van Gogh

Now to decide who the next artist will be...