Inspiration with a French Flair

Blind Artist Vision: blog by Stella De Genova

I have always been enamored with France.  I took French in high school, dreaming of going to Paris and on my visits to the Art Institute of Chicago, the French impressionists became my favorite galleries.

About 10 years ago, my son treated me to a fast and furious trip to Paris when we were visiting London.  We didn’t have a lot of time but we did the “must see” places of Paris.  There was the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, the Champs Ellysees and the unique experience of the French Metro subway system.  I also cannot forget the lovely view overlooking the city of Paris from Montmartre, which is where the impressionists lived and painted.  Although the Louvre wasn’t open when we were there due to employee protests, we did get to visit the Musee d’Orsay, which happens to be home to many original French impressionist paintings.

With my white cane in hand and hanging on  to my son’s arm, we raced up and down train station stairs to catch rides to get to as many sights as we could.  Of course, due to my failing vision, the actual visual memories are literally a blur but the excitement of seeing Paris with my son will be in my heart forever.  If I ever get back to France, I will do some guided tours and visit the countryside.

As destiny would have it, I’ve met and become friends with a low vision photographer and lovely woman, Annie Hesse.  We met as juried artists for Passionate Focus, sponsored by Second Sense.   Annie is American-born but has lived in Paris for 30 years with her husband.  She told me about a photograph she took while visiting in Dijon, France and I asked if I could attempt a painting of her photo.  She was kind enough to share her work with me so I could give it a try.

The photograph shows a large rich wooden window frame with lots of foliage and even a clothesline for the outside view.  On the inside, in front of the window, the sunlight falls on a table with numerous items: a bottle of wine, a melted candle, baskets with fruits and vegetables, a plate with a head of purple garlic, small tin cans and a teapot.  There were a lot of details in the photo and to ease my intimidation, I simplified the drawing a bit and omitted a couple of the items on the table.

Annie Hesse's photograph

As a visually impaired artist, the first thing I do is to take the time to study my reference photo because my brain has to interpret what my eyes are trying to see.  The next thing I do isdraw a grid on a print of the image and then I prepare my pastel paper with a grid as well and then I am ready to do my base drawing. As is often done in pastel painting, the second step is an underpainting.  In this painting, I used pinks and purples for the underpainting.  These are not the realistic colors but are nice compliments when I start layering my pastels.

Underpainting

Layer by layer of color, I work from darks to lights to final highlights, trying to use a touch of all of the colors throughout the painting  for cohesiveness.

I always use my IPad to magnify details of my reference photo and I try to make realistic color choices.  I say “try” because I can’t see colors anymore only a bright red or blue may jump out at me.  We use layers of colors in pastel painting so I don’t get overly concerned about exactness anymore.  Value is more important and I enjoy working with the contrasts of darks and lights. 

When I think I’m done with the painting, I walk away from it and come back and look at it many times in the next day or two.  This is when I make my last decisions, corrections and final touches.

Le Dejeuner à Dijon

What I’ve always loved most about the French impressionists is their brave use of color and studies in light.  As a pastel painter with my visual limitations, I try to use them as my muses and work onn my compositions with the same priorities in mind.  Renoir, Monet and Gauguin and my newest friend, Annie,  have inspired me and I say “Merci!”

“Artists try to interpret reality while photographers try to capture reality.”  Isabella Allende

Subscribe!