Creation and appreciation of art are critical to the progression of the human intellect. With this lofty ideal, I enrolled for oil painting lessons in the Evanston Art Center last summer. During the final few lessons, one is expected to copy a master from a big Art book of acclaimed paintings. As I was browsing through pages of Van Gohs, Pollocks and other big names I had never heard of, one painting by Vilhelm Hammershoi caught my eyes- Interior with girl at the Clavier (do google for this image). Now, I love the piano and believe that some of the most beautifully complicated pieces are written for the piano. The painting is a serene composition centering a woman playing the piano in a room. Very realistic and its almost like you are behind her in the room listening to music. A table (ceramic plates and clean white table cloth) is placed between the observer and the subject and this gives a sense of perspective. Interestingly enough, I found the backdrop of the painting most captivating. The light (source on top left is not revealed) suffuses the wall with dabs of purple and blue (making the painting almost impressionist) and gradually fades away as we reach the right side. Notice the play of light on the picture frames, the woman's neck and lamp...Without second thoughts, I asked my instructor if I could paint this in 4 classes (3 hrs each). He said it would take him about 15-20 hrs. I insisted on moving ahead and started putting brush on canvas sometime in May/June. During mid October, I was in a frenzy to finish it before and almost got tired of making revisions and adding layers and layers of paint. Till date I haven't had a chance to complete it (table cloth fold running right through the plate!). Presenting my girl at the clavier and hoping I will be able to revisit her at some point...
