O'Keeffe in Hawaii

Georgia O'Keeffe, Waterfall - No. II - Iao Valley, 1939, Oil on Canvas, 24"x20"

Georgia O'Keeffe produced this work as part of her Waterfall Series, inspired by the Hawaiian landscape.  I wrote a bit about my encounter with this body of work in this post, after visiting the Honolulu Museum of Art.  I like to buy prints of works that resonate with me after visiting stellar museums like the one in Honolulu.  But this time I refrained from buying a print and decided on a more ambitious approach.  Copy the original. 

This method of replicating the work of masters is quite a common practice in the fine arts - I'm hardly the first to attempt it.  The practice is an exercise in seeing as much as it is an investigation of techniques.  What better way to get inside the head of an artist?  After spending so much time with this particular composition I really got inside the space, began to understand how depth and atmosphere was created and how colors interact with each other.  To be honest by the time I completed the painting I was tempted to create the scene in clay.  This work in particular is so sculptural.

A progress shot.  I completed about half the scene early one morning.  But by the time the sun rose I found that all my colors looked off - they were just too warm.  I think it was the effect of the florescent bulbs in the room.  Whatever the effect it set me back a bit - I had to repaint a bunch of work.  Also the proportions are a bit off as well.  My canvas is 18"x24", the original work was two inches wider.

   

I hate to put these side by side.  All I see are differences.  But I'll leave my complaining at that, because though mine is different it is not bad.  I easily could have decided to obsess about the flaws, about every detail.  But honestly I reworked and fussed over so many sections that at last I had to decide that this is to a certain extent mine, and my interpretation.  It would not and could not be identical to O'Keeffe's, no matter how long I labored. 

I do think the light keeps fooling me, even in these photo it does not appear the same in life.  As I'm sure the print that I have scanned does not resemble the print that I was trying to replicate, and that print is only an approximation to the original work.  On the whole I guess that mine has alot more contrast.  And it appears that my greens are bluer.  But again, I swear I only notice these things upon viewing the photographs and scanned images.

I really like this work as a reminder of Hawaii.  I enjoyed the exercise - it is a good challenge, especially with the use of color.  I think I'll do this again.

Now, the debate I had with myself, and with Matthew, should I sign the canvas?  You know, because it's mine, but it's not mine.  I can't find that O'Keeffe signed the original so mine is also unsigned.  For now.