A painting inspired by Matisse's 'Notre-Dame' series, the subject of a recent online 'Freedom in Painting' workshop. My process is to sketch out ideas or draw from the subject, in this case from Matisse's paintings, and then draw from the drawings, looking for specificness and structure as a catalyst for a painting. With my Notre-Dame painting, drawing 5 below was my template. I chose a new oil-colour to work with, Michael Harding's 'Indian Yellow (Red Shade)', which I paired with purples, a palette sourced, perhaps, in Matisse's magnificent 'Notre-Dame with Violet Walls'.
In the finished piece, clarity and precision of drawing and colour emerges from the more chaotic earlier version below. The right-hand purple vertical is also necessarily straightened, referencing, of course, the window in Matisse's apartment on the Quai Saint-Michel. I hope my painting reflects the dynamism and emotive colour of Matisse's series.
in progress
detail