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The siege of La Rochelle
Reproduction of the work of Henri-Paul Motte (1846-1922) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 The first 5 hours - 20 to 27 march Work on canvas 8-F 18"x15" (46x38cm) format. The main features of the model were carried over the canvas with carbon paper. I applied an ocher background to the whole canvas, the color found in several places of the background of the original. |
 7,5 hours of work - april 3 Progress stakes and poles of the dyke reinforcements. Historical background: the dyke which stands Richelieu measure 1,500 meters in length, 16 meters in width, and 20 meters in heigth. It was intended to prevent British ships from coming to the rescue of the Rochellais by sea. |
 8,5 hours of work - april 11 Advancement of cape of Cardinal Richelieu with Alizarin color crimson diluted with the medium. Adding black and white and different shades. |
 11 hours of work - april 24 A light color of the cape is not good because I have mixed Alizarin crimson directly with white and I put in some medium. The lack of medium makes the colors opaque and the effect of yellow background is lost, giving a bad pink. Difficult to gauge the medium exactly right! |
 12,5 hours of work - may 1 ... |
 15 hours of work - may 8 The first layer of the red cape is now complete. View the entire painting |
 17,5 hours of work - may 15 I begin on the armor by using light colors black and titanium white that I create nuances of by mixing them. View the entire painting |
 20 hours of work - may 29 The first layer of armor is closed. The second layer will come later, once the painting is complete. |
 22,5 hours of work - june 19 Richelieu style boots musketeers. The colors are obtained from raw umber, green earth natural, ivory black, and some cadmium yellow for some highlights. |
 25 hours of work - june 30 The face and hands of Richelieu. Using the colors burnt umber, yellow ocher, cadmium red, and white to represent the facial skin color. The hair is a mixture of ivory black and titanium white. I somewhat strengthened the white / black contrasts from the top of the armor ... although this is the first layer, I cannot avoid going into details! |
 29 hours of work - october 2 The first layer of the little boat with a soldier on the left of Richelieu. Transition to the second layer of the Richelieu cape. Using a cadmium red mixed with cadmium yellow for light parts and with earth shades for the dark parts. |
 31,5 hours of work - october 9 End of the transition from the second layer and adding shiny and dark areas to contrast well and give volume to the cape. In this picture we can see the difference between the first layer of the cape and the second, which affects reality. View the entire painting |
 30,5 hours of work - november 6 Working on the background of the painting: the sea and the rather crude warship painted with earth shadow burnt diluted turpentine in order to have light colors and pastels. |
 33 hours of work - december 12 Labor rock pier where Richelieu is located. View the entire painting |
 35 hours of work - january 1 Working several details to clarify (LEIDEN: lighter?) [Lighten areas. Lighter = adjective, to lighten = verb] areas with reflections and shine to add reality. Finishing the second layer of rocks. View the entire painting |
 37,5 hours of work - january 22 Working the sea and its foam. The foam was made on the "fresh" but the end result is not the one expected. It will board a second layer once the fabric is dryer to give the sea a more realistic look. Adding light reflections on the rocks of the breakwater. |
 40 hours of work - january 1 The second layer of the sea and accentuation of contrasts (dark green, ivory, white). The second layer of part of the masts' "breakwater" and protection against the enemy. The first layer of the boat to stern, work on the background scenery, and the three-decker vessel. The ship in the background is too light and the colors are too bright, which mitigates the main character Richelieu. In the next session the ship will be toned down with "marine" mists :) |
 45 hours of work - february 19 The last hours on this painting! - Remote Ship in the mist dissipated so that it does not encroach on Richelieu in the foreground. - Small boat over, without going into too much unnecessary detail. - Mast ripped detailed. - Improved waves tearing the ship made to dry in order to have better dissolving streaks on ambient brown. - Improved contrast on Richelieu's clothes. Next and final step, the power part :) |
under frame - february 28
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