I discovered that I could not open my website yesterday. I worked for hours with the ai help offered. I thought it was finally fixed but then this morning I could not access it. As I looked around my previously viewed videos, I found one from Friday when I last posted. I was able to enter from there. I saved it in favorites and hope I don’t have this problem any more. I don’t have time for these delays.
So, this is a cropped image of one of William Adolph Bouguereau’s famous and valuable paintings. I have chosen this for my first Master Copy. If it turns out well, I want to feature it in my upcoming show and then I will take bids from any who wish to purchase it. This artist is a master of human form. He made a fortune selling his originals and prints when the art world was banning him from The Salon in Paris and eliminating him completely from art history books. The impressionists and abstract artists of his time wanted to rid the art world of realism and did their best to destroy his reputation as an artist. But he continued to be successful, appealing largely to the American market. In 1960, if I had been able to gather together the sum of $600 I might have been able to purchase one of his works. Now those values have exploded. I have been fortunate enough to see most of his works which are on display in galleries from Massachusetts to Florida. I have been given permission to be given a chair so that I could sit for hours in front of several to study closely every brush stroke. I have been permitted to photograph them in detail, although one circumstance had tight restrictions. We were able to attend an exhibition at the Scaife Gallery in Pittsburgh. The show was to be exhibited in, I believe, three cities only. One was in California, maybe LA, one here in Pittsburgh and one in Florida. What a blessing it was to see it.
I have finally reached the place where I am strongly compelled to begin this challenge. Already, while making the drawing, I appreciate the expertise Bouguereau had in every aspect of executing the nuances of his subject. His hair alone shows a total understanding of the twists and turns of a curl. He makes it all seem so simple.

I have used Diana’s Grid Tool to be sure that my drawing is true to Bouguereau’s vision. Now I will begin to lay down the image in oils. I will post as often as I can as long as this technology does not break down. Till next time, Diana