Discussion of art, Q/A from students, comments on photography and sketch-to-studio process.
EXHIBIT: Sargent and Spain at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (Oct-Jan 2, 2023). Free and no reservations required. West wing.
CATALOG REVIEW: A catalog is available for this exhibit and can be purchased on Amazon (Sargent and Spain, Sarah Cash, Printed in Italy). This is a great collection of work to show a 'working artist' and how sketches and preparation studies can inform larger paintings. An interesting side benefit is seeing how Sargent handles oil vs watercolor. Beautiful closeups are shown of select paintings and really capture brush strokes that are exciting for artists to see. Pitfalls of printing are minor, a few ship watercolors are bleached out, and some colors lost on the oils (a few look dingy), but overall this is very well done with good quality printing. There is an exceptional grouping of sketches, studies, and final work with photos to show locations. Several paintings and drawings are from private collections and I've not seen them before. This was a really terrific exhibit!
Next time you visit an exhibit try taking notes right after you see it. It's great to see with other artist friends as you can share your interesting thoughts and insights on the work.