The Making Of Venus.
In 2020, during the Covid pandemic, the lockdowns gave me time to paint a large canvas tribute to the two paintings: Le Rêve by Henri Rousseau (The Dream) 1910, a post-impressionist Naïve artist, on show at the Musée d’Orsay, in Paris and Nascita di Venere by Sandro Botticelli, (The Birth of Venus), c.1484–1486, at the Galleria degli Uffizi.
After the two smaller paintings, see the article Becoming A Painter And Finding Your Voice, I decided to try a much larger scale canvas, 100 x 80 cm. Over many months and hours Venus In The Jungle II came to life in the attic room of our previous home, which I had used as my studio.
Painting Venus Large.
A short video that I made for Instagram. I used acrylic paint ……
If you do not know the pianist Katia Buniatishvili, I suggest that you look her up and listen to her unique way of playing the piano. I am no classical music buff, but I can tell that she has a different touch.
Here is another video showing the progression from the first sketches, reference photos, drawing on the canvas, first layers of paint ……. to the finished and varnished painting.
This painting, Venus In The Jungle II, is hanging in our home as my husband became so fond of her, having watched her come to life, that he didn’t want me to sell her. And I must admit that as my very first large scale painting, she does hold a special place in my heart too.
Venus Number Three.
So, I had the bright idea of painting another Venus, using the same drawing, a leopard instead of a lion and slightly different colours. This turned out to be not such a great idea and I now know that I need to create something different with each painting to keep my motivation flowing.
However, I am pleased with the result and quite surprised that she does, in fact, look different from her sister painting.
Painted in acrylic paints, on a 100 x 80 cm cotton canvas, she is available in my shop, together with the limited edition prints of my three goddess paintings and two landscapes, 40 x 50 cm. Custom sizes available on demand.
Limited Edition Venus And Other Prints.
What is a Giclée Print?
Giclée is a French term for “to spray” or “to squirt”. It refers to the process that an inkjet printer uses to reproduce fine art or photography, to create individual copies of the original piece. With giclée printing, you can expect a higher quality product that will last and not fade.
For giclée printing, the paper must be archival quality to ensure the longevity of the artwork. My printer Picto Paris uses long life pigment inks that are printed in high definition on the paper of my choice, which is Museum Etching Hahnemühle 350g. The result is an art print whose longevity and richness of values sublimates the original work.
I am currently working on a fifth goddess canvas, Kali In The Jungle, which I will tell you more about at a later date.
Thank you for visiting.
Take Care,
Henrie
XO.
