Vincent Van Gogh meets a Painted Purse

First I added a little gesso ...

Then I painted the front: Starry Night-ish...

And the back: Quote from Starry Starry Night ...

And gave it as a birthday gift ...

to a dear friend who happens to love Van Gogh!

Chair 2: Irises panel

This is my favourite panel on this chair.

It's spectacular.

It's bright.

It often goes unnoticed simply, just because it's on the back panel of the chair. But what a pleasant surprise it is to the viewer, when they discover these irises.

Chair 2: Rest from Work panel

Some may have a problem with the fact that I often paint from Van Gogh's paintings. Obviously, I am not trying to do exact replicas of his work, but rather, from using his paintings as inspiration, I glean a lot through reflecting upon his techniques. Oh, and I'm not the only one copying from other artists.

Vincent also did it. For example, his painting Noon: Rest from Work was after Jean-François Millet. Millet's painting was entitled Noonday Rest. Compare Millet and Van Gogh's work below. There both beautiful in their own way. Van Gogh completely copied while retaining his style.

Many of our favourite Van Gogh paintings were studies of Millet's work. Some of the paintings included First Steps, Evening: The Watch, The Sower, and Peasant Woman Binding Sheaves.

As long as there is nothing new under the sun, artists will continue to glean from other artists' work. As long as they give credit where credit is due, it's all good.

Chair 2: 3 Poplars panel

As I've mentioned before, painting chairs constantly presents me with "shape challenges". How do I configure the side panel paintings' compositions when I am not working with the typically shaped canvas. In other words, they are just odd shapes.

Because I was painting this chair as a Faux Gogh, I had to scrounge the pages of my trusty reference book, Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings. There I found Two Poplars on a Road through the Hills (1889) which became the inspiration for my 3 Poplars panel.


Truthfully, I must admit that I don't feel that I ever completed this panel. I could go back and add more layers. Maybe I will someday; or not. But since is the chair that I've kept for myself, I have the luxury of leaving it as is, or working on it again ... someday.

Chair 2: Dawn panel

The second chair I painted, I painted for our home. I thought it appropriate that I do a tribute to Van Gogh's paining, Enclosed Field with Rising Sun, 1889.

I call it Wheatfield's Dawn.

Bright, sunshine-y colours are used on this panel ~ one simply cannot sit in this chair and feel sad.

It's always fun to watch a person who hasn't seen this chair before. They always pause and then ask: "Can I sit in this chair?" When they find out they can, it always brings a big smile to their faces. I like that moment.