Bill Davidson, painting en plein air, during his workshop in France.
While we were in France on a painting trip with Bill Davidson’s artist
workshop, Bill got the news that his jewel of a painting, “Changes, 10 x
20″ had been selected for the Oil Painters of America show and in fact
had already sold off the wall of the show. Bill, who along with Nancy
Franke from our gallery, is a Signature member of OPA, was thrilled to
hear this and we celebrated un peu with the artists from the workshop.
Bill Davidson's OPA selection, "Changes" 10" x 20"
Bill loved this scene so much that he painted a larger version which we
featured today in an email that went out to our Huff Harrington Home and
Huff Harrington Fine Art clients as part of a father’s day email.
Judging by the responses that are pouring in from the email, the OPA
(and we) are not the only ones who love this painting. Congrats to Bill!
Bill Davidson, Winter's Delight, 36 x 24. We don't sell a lot of
snow scenes in Atlanta, and what a pity that is! This is one of
Bill's masterpieces with beautiful composition and a great
balance of warms and cools, which is so hard to do with snow.
We’ve already talked about how much we love doing the painting
workshops in France and how inspirational it is to be with a group of
committed plein-air artists, who are there to capture their scenes on
canvas just as the light, shadows, wind and rain often swirl
unpredictably around them.
By the time we bid our adieus, after a wonderful week together, I had
“plein air” on my mind and an increased appetite for more. So the
icing on the cake was a quick stop through Paris on the way home to
attend the much acclaimed Eugene Boudin retrospective at the Musee Jacquemart-Andre.
Eugene Boudin and I go way back. In fact, ever since I saw my first
Boudin painting at the National Gallery in Washington DC, I have been
enamored with this artist, known as the precursor of Impressionism and
the one who most influenced Monet, against his wishes, to get out of the
studio and paint nature outside. I grew up with a Boudin print in my
bedroom, and to this day, I think it’s my favorite painting ever.
Boudin, The Beach of Villerville (National Gallery Washington DC)
and the image I grew up with (although my memory of the print was that it was
softer in color). If this were painted by one of our artists, we'd probably tell them to
tone it down (see what they have to put up with?!).
So all I could think of, coming from the plein-air workshop to this
wonderful hidden little Paris museum, was what fun to see all the
similarities between Eugene Boudin and the plein-airism espoused during
Bill Davidson’s workshop. As I walked through the museum, it also
occurred to me that there were many similarities between the two
painters, Bill Davidson and Eugene Boudin, which I’m sure they would
both be delighted about! Like, both Bill and Eugene started painting
later in life, after successful careers in other fields. They both have
loved to paint outdoors – and pretty much hate being in a studio. They
both have embraced time to travel and feel that it is essential in the
growth of their work. They’ve both been enamored with water scenes and
have loved to play with the variations of light on water. And they’re
both known for their love of (and extraordinary rendition of) skies.
One of Boudin's early and very popular beach scenes, for which
he became renowned and highly commissioned, much to his regret,
since he preferred being less "commercial" and painting in a
looser and more spontaneous style. Courtesy, Musee Jacquemart-Andre.
Ahh.. the Boudin we know and love. We would tell our artists "You nailed
the palette on this one!" Courtesy of eugeneboudin.org.
Another beauty from Boudin and the kind of painting he loved to
paint, outdoors. Look at all the fine nuances of color on the water
and the play of water, smoke & sky. Courtesy Musee Jacquemart-Andre.
I can imagine that Boudin loved painting this and that people were aghast.
We, of course, think it is simply magical, and completely ahead of its time.
He loved to travel and was especially influenced by northern European
scenery and light.
Eugene Boudin (1824-1898) was so ahead of his time, not only with his
influence on Monet and Impressionism, but also in terms of the
looseness that he aspired to in all of his paintings. It reminded me of
Bill Davidson’s mantra to his students everyday: “Simplify! Simplify!
Simplify!”
Isn’t it ironic that the most sophisticated paintings are often the
simplest? We are often asked, at the gallery, how long an artist spent
working on a painting, and our answer is usually: “About five minutes
and 35 years.” The greatest painters always make it look so easy.
Ta ta ..
HH
PS: If you end up going to Paris before July 22nd, you must visit
the magnificent exhibit (make sure to get the headphones). The extra
treat is the gorgeous building that houses the exhibit and the beautiful
hardware on all the doors. If you’ve been reading these blogs, you
know that we are equally obsessed with beautiful skies and handsome
hardware. Hmmm… a new store in our future: Huff Harrington Hardware?
What do you think?
One of the many door handles that had me gasping over the hardware
at the Musee Jacquemart-Andre in Paris.
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