“I won’t ask you to do anything I won’t do,” I promised my students recently. That’s cutting into my painting time, but I have several students enrolled in both of my online classes. I’m concerned I’m running them ragged.
Last week I asked my composition and brushwork class to copy a Wayne Thiebaud painting. I’ve been meaning to do it myself because I was curious about how he executes those hints of penumbral color.
Later, I was flipping through Facebook and realized that painter Tim Kelly had just copied Winslow Homer’s The Herring Net. What is so valuable about copying masterpieces that even professional artists do it?
Freed from original thought
Getting rid of the pressure of originality frees your mind to focus on technique. You hone skills without the added burden of inventing something new. You can study, dispassionately, the elements of color and design used by the artist.
Brushwork
I assigned Thiebaud because I wanted my students to get a feeling for his brushwork. That differs depending on the medium. He’s also a great source to understand optical mixing.
Color mixing without pressure
By the time I was done with my fair copy, I knew what paints Thiebaud had on his palette. (It doesn’t differ much from mine, it turns out.) Here, Tim was operating at a disadvantage. “This was done from a picture in an old book so it’s likely a chromatic departure from the original,” he said.
There are several passages in Cheese Slices where colors were mixed with a dragging brush. That’s easy enough to do spontaneously; it’s much harder to copy. But the attempt helped me understand the theory behind his color choices.
Learning by copying is really reverse engineering
Most of the painting I copied was pretty straightforward. In other areas, there were challenges of blending and detail that surprised me. For example, Thiebaud’s application of impasto was more conventional than I expected, considering how radical the results look.
These problem-solving skills, of course, are transferable to your original work. Once you’ve figured out how a master blends, or applies paint, you can do it in your own work any time you want.
Learning by copying builds confidence
I still don’t think I’ll make a good forger, but it is always heartening to realize that I can fake it enough for the painting to be recognizable.
A few tips for success
You have to be a little in love with a painting to bother copying it. It helps to understand the historical context and technique of the artist before you start. There’s no reason to sweat this part; the internet is a terrific resource.
Find the best image of the painting that you can. I have a picture of Cheese Slices in a book but ended up painting from a photo taken by my friend. It was much more detailed and nuanced.
Above all, be patient. It took time to create the original, and it will take time to make a copy. Mine took the better part of a day.
Focus on what you care about. I was uninterested in copying Thiebaud’s paint-handling; I understand how he did that. Among other things, he was right-handed and I’m a leftie. But if juicy brushwork is your issue, copy the brushwork. If color’s your issue, copy the color. If they’re both your issue, focus on them both.
My major question going into this copy was when those brilliant penumbral colors were added—in the base layer, the middle layer, or the top. All of the above, it turns out.
The night after I copied this painting, I dreamed about it. My subconscious mind showed me how those penumbral colors are organized and I looked at the original with new eyes. Then I went on to paint my own cranberry-glass goblets using the same general idea. Is it brilliant? No. Is it interesting? To me, at least.
Reserve your spot now for a workshop in 2025:
- Canyon Color for the Painter, Sedona, AZ, March 10-14, 2025
- Advanced Plein Air Painting, Rockport, ME, July 7-11, 2025.
- Sea and Sky at Acadia National Park, August 3-8, 2025.
- Find Your Authentic Voice in Plein Air, Berkshires, MA, August 11-15, 2025.
- Immersive In-Person Fall Workshop, Rockport, ME, October 6-10, 2025.