Children at the Museum

31 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by pat in Art, Art Museums & Exhibitions, England, paintings, sketching, Uncategorized

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A few years ago, I was in Cambridge and saw a museum scene in Cambridge of children relaxed and attentive on the floor of a gallery, contemplating and studying the art.

A patron asked if he could commission a new version with a similar vibe since the first one had sold this past summer. It was a familiar scene I have seen over and over again no matter where I go, a classic…students immersed in the art. So I took it on, trying to be original but capturing the fun and excitement of young students visiting the museum that had worked so well in the former painting.

I chose The National Gallery of Art this time, in Washington DC. I never have a total preconception of what I will paint. I always figure I’ll know it when I see it. I knew I wanted young children in school uniforms visiting a museum. I found lots of school groups. But not the age I wanted. So I kept looking.

When I walked up to the museum on an early weekday morning reconnaissance mission, I was pleased to see a group of children, in uniforms, sitting on the curb outside the museum. I had my potential reference, at least for poses and styling details.

I went in to the Museum, and walked through the galleries trying to decide on the art I wanted to showcase. When I walked in to the gallery with the vivid colors of Caillebotte, I made my choice, and shot several photographs of different angles.

Then for the school group. I found the children again, and took enough photos of different poses from the back so as not to identify them, to get positions and poses.

I went home to sketch and realized I still wasn’t sure about proportions in the space. So back to the Museum for an hour or two of watching children come in and out of the room to determine height and proportion in relationship to the art and room. Perspective was tough.

Finally I had it. I looked online for different uniform combinations, and decided on the blue, gray and black to compliment the colors in the art. And only then was I ready for the weeks of sketching and painting and playing with colors and shadow.

Luckily, we were all pleased with results. More often than not I try to capture models in an actual scene and then change them enough so they suit the scene. Much easier than the cut and paste method, but with perseverance, this worked out well.

“Child’s Play”, oil on linen, 24 x 30″

Teach your children well

20 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by pat in Art, Art Museums & Exhibitions, paintings, sketching, Travel, Uncategorized, United Kingdom

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Cambridge, Cambridge University, Fitzwilliam Museum

No matter what museum I am in, in any city, I will almost certainly see a group of school children visiting the galleries with their teachers and often a docent from the museum.

The Art Lesson just happens to be a scene I witnessed in the UK, at the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University. But it could have been at any great museum.

The Museum itself is imposing, and when you enter you see cavernous ceilings, long halls lined in marble and a beautiful and eclectic collection of paintings.

When I first walked in to this gallery of impressionist paintings, there was an energetic group of children loudly roaming all over this particular space. But they soon calmed down and took their place on the floor in front of the paintings. And there they stayed surrendering to the art.

The casually relaxed children were clearly in stark contrast to the formal gilded trim and marble columns. But with a certain intensity, they finally found peace with their surroundings.

I could relate to these children. I have often wanted to sit on the floor in front of a great painting and just let the images speak for themselves.

Cambridge

03 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by pat in England, Travel, United Kingdom

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Cambridge, The River Cam, University of Cambridge

This is the first year we got around to visiting Cambridge, and I fell in love with it.

Cambridge is surrounded by green fields and parkland. Photo by me

Cambridge is surrounded by green fields, rivers and parkland. Photo by me

As we drove into the area, we saw parks and fields and cows right up to the city center.

And then it is all there, a great big university town located in Cambridgeshire, England 50 miles north of London on the River Cam.

The River Cam flows right through the middle of Cambridge. Photo by me.

Within a relatively small area, there are these beautiful classic buildings of the various colleges and churches and shops.

The main streets of Cambridge lined with scholastic buildings of the various colleges. Photo by me.

We came in early after flying all night from the states, so to stay awake we wandered the streets.

Red and gold brick and stone everywhere. The city is stunning. Photo by me.

I couldn’t think of a better place to get over jet lag than Cambridge.

Even the tea shops look astoundingly grand. Photo by me.

Around each corner there was something else to see, and the shops were attention grabbing.

A book shop in Cambridge. Photo by me.

Many of the university and college grounds were admissible by ticket only, but we were just as happy this day to wander and look in from the main streets.

King’s College Chapel. Photo by me.

There was plenty to see just wandering around aimlessly.

Photo by me.

Word has it that Cambridge was founded by disgruntled scholars from Oxford who didn’t get along with the educators there. I think they founded a mighty fine alternative. And the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209 is consistently ranked as one of the top five universities in the world. The city is flooded with tourists and students (there are over 24,000 students in Cambridge), even in August.

Bicycles everywhere. The center is closed to b=vehicular traffic. Photo by me.

We ended the day perfectly for a first day in Britain…dinner in a Cambridge pub.

The Miter was perfect for a light meal before bed. Photo by me.

We decided then and there to return towards the end of our trip, and explore this magnificent city in more detail.

Cambridge Clock

28 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by pat in England, Uncategorized

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Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, The Corpus Clock

Walking down the main street of Cambridge past the beautiful architecture of the various colleges, we saw a group of people on the corner watching something. On closer inspection, it was a phenomenal “clock”.

on the corner of Cambridge. Photo by me.

On a corner of Cambridge. Photo by me.

The Corpus Clock is outside the Taylor Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, in the UK. It is beautiful, large and very sculptural. It was conceived and funded by John C. Taylor, an old member of the college, and officially unveiled 19 September 2008 by Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking.

The clock’s face is 24-carat gold-plated stainless steel. It has no hands or numbers but displays the time by opening individual slits in the clock face, backlit with blue LEDs; these slits are arranged in three concentric rings displaying hours, minutes and seconds.

Of course what you notice first is the intricate metal sculpture of an insect similar to a grasshopper or locust. Taylor calls this beast “Chronophage” (literally, time eater). It moves its mouth as if to eat up the seconds as they pass, and occasionally blinks. The Chronophage is affectionately known by students variously as “Rosalind” or “Hopsy”.

Below the clock is the inscription from the Vulgate 1 John 2:17: which translates as “the world passeth away, and the lust thereof”.

Makes you think.

Cambridge Punts

09 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by pat in England, Travel, United Kingdom

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Cambridge, punts, River Cam

We arrived in the UK yesterday morning after a long red-eye flight to Heathrow, and made our way up to the banks of the River Cam, Cambridge, to try to adjust to England time. It was the perfect spot to recover.

Our hotel in Cambridge, a Doubletree by Hilton, rear left on the River Cam. Photo by me

Our room was not ready when we arrived late morning, but we managed to sit in the back garden of the hotel, and watch with great amusement as people made their way down the river on the classic mode of transportation, the punt.

The punts lined up on the River Cam ready for action. Photo by me.

Right down the block there are many vendors offering “chauffeured” punt tours of the river, a perfect way to see the backside of the great university and colleges that line the shore. By chauffeured, they mean that someone does the hard work for you.

Some “punters” were quite skilled and comfortable with the boats. Photo by me.

But you can also rent the plain wooden punts yourself, and many did on this mildly warm summer afternoon. We decided to stick to the river’s edge, and watch the action from the shore.

A perfect day to rent a punt. Photo by me.

The level of expertise at guiding the boats down the river with long wooden poles pushing in the mud, varied greatly.

But it was all done with great humor, and much camaraderie and laughter.

The best was to watch the older boatmen try to move the punts from one part of the river, over the embankment by lifting it and repositioning it in the new tributary.

In order to get the punt from one side of the tow path to the other you had to lift it out and carry it over. Quite a procedure. Photo by me.

It became even more humorous when a parade of cows coming by on the same path, who obviously had the run of the river shores, decided to join the chaos. My camera was still in my bag waiting to get to the room so I missed the shot of the day, but we will talk about that site for years to come.

It’s good to be back in England.

accentBritain

~ a romance with art and all things British

Tag Archives: Cambridge

Children at the Museum

Teach your children well

Cambridge

Cambridge Clock

Cambridge Punts