Cezanne Visits Dressels

Copying works by accomplished painters is one way to improve your skills. And, if I had the attention span for that, I’d do it, too. 

Instead, I sometimes try to imitate some aspect of a painter’s style or approach in one of my own paintings.    So this week, it is Cezanne.  I wanted to play with his methods of dispensing with traditional perspective and using brushwork and color to bring the viewer in close proximity to the subject. 

The result is “On Dressels’ Farm” shown here.  Click on the image to get a larger view with more detail.  To get a sense of how I tried to bring things closer, you can see a photo of the view I was painting by clicking here.

Okay, it is not exactly Mont Sainte Victoire, but I thought it might be fun to show you ways I try to up my game.  By the way, you can see “On Dressels’ Farm” in person at the New Paltz Historic Preservation Commission Annual Art Show at Elting Library from May 5 to May 31.