So, as I mentioned, my husband is not an artist. But he always has a thoughtful slant on any show we ever go to, and his comments last night on the Vermeer exhibit were interesting. I won't go into detail, as he had quite a lot to say and I hate to type, but the one comment that struck a chord was, "Compared to the other artists in the show, his stuff looks slightly out of focus." And that's what I like about it--- the dreaminess, the soft quality of the light.
He's right about the other painters— Metsu, ter Borch, Steen; so many hard edges, everything in sharp focus, faces and garments exquisitely modeled down to the last detail. You've never seen so much glorious satin! But the Vermeers have a hazy, spiritual quality. I'm trying to capture that with some wet-on-wet and glazing techniques, though it seems to take more than a single layer. Here's what I did today:
Study After A Maid Asleep, (Johannes Vermeer), work in progress (click on image for larger view)
It's also going to take some very soft brushes.
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