Dancers in Blue (after Degas)

I recently returned from Paris where several late paintings and pastels by Degas at the Musée d'Orsay knocked me out.

Towards the end of his life Degas was losing his eyesight, as a result his artistic process loosened up. Towards the very end, he painted in very broad strokes: smudging the oil paints directly on the canvas with his palm and fingers. Prompted by this insight, I was inspired to copy several late Degas paintings using the iPad Brushes App billed as “digital finger painting”.

Dancers in Blue (after Degas)          Al Doyle, 2011

The video below shows the progression of the drawing from start to finish.

This exercise in copying aims to demonstrate the usefulness of the iPad as an aid in teaching the basics of drawing and painting. One of the truly revolutionary aspects of the Brushes App is the ease of use. Drawing with you finger provides an artist with direct control not afforded by other digital paint applications.

Two Versions of Dancers by Degas

Here is the Degas painting:

Dancers in Blue - Art Den

Artist Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris)
Dancers, Pink and Green
ca. 1890
Oil on canvas
From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, the version above is similar to the painting at the Musee d'Orsay with an added dancer on the left.

Dancers Adjusting Their Dresses (after Degas)

Dancers Adjusting Their Dresses (after Degas)          Al Doyle, 2011

I found the Degas original image on a Flickr slide show. I am looking for specific information of the provenance of the painting by Degas.

Shiva as Lord of the Dance

Metropolitan Museum http://www.metmuseum.org

Shiva as Lord of Dance (Shiva Nataraja)

India (Tamil Nadu), Chola period

Datelate 12th–early 13th century

Metropolitan Museum

Buddha Drawing in progress

This sketch was done in about 14 minutes sketching at the Metropolitan Museum.

Standing Buddha
Thailand
15th century

Siddhartha Drawing

Siddhartha

 

Temple of Dendur: Examples of Student Work

10th grade Digital Media class field trip to the Metropolitan Museum,  Spring 2011 Photo: Basil Kolani

Temple of Dendur     Al Doyle, 2011

This iPad sketch demonstrates the large forms, broad areas of color and simplified two-point perspective approach suited to the Brushes App.

Temple of Dendur               Noah B. 10th grade 

A thorough understanding of two-point perspective is demonstrated by this  by 10th grade student iPad drawing of the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum.

Elevation drawing of the Temple of Dendur      Jerry Y. 10th grade

Students held their concentration for over and hour and were completely engaged in the task at hand.

photo: Basil Kolani

Temple of Dendur     Jelle K. 10th grade

 Here a bold use of the black line gives this student's iPad drawing a distinctive and dramatic look.

Temple Oblique Perspective Study     Al Doyle, 2011

This quick warm-up sketch was done to demonstrate the focus on large shapes and simplified detailing.

 

Here is the progress of the quick sketch above.