I mentioned earlier this year that I began oil painting for the first time. While the first few weeks felt like I was sailing blindly in the dark, I am happy to say, I found a middle ground painting a copy of Honoré Daumier’s “The Burden” (1851).** I did not approach painting with the intention of producing an exact likeness of the original piece, instead opting to make it more chromatic. But I began first by creating an outline, utilizing the grid method, and then overlaying different colors.

Daumier was a painter, sculptor and printmaker who made his living making caricatures in mid-19th century France. His paintings were considered radical for his time, because they depicted the working class people of Paris working, commuting and engaging in leisure. He often got himself into hot water through his scathing attacks on the bourgeoise, the church, politicians, and the monarchy. He was jailed for several months for an unflattering depiction he made of King Louis-Philippe.

What I really love about the period of art history Daumier beckons from, is the expressiveness of the palette. I picture, looking at his work, a world filled with smoke, lit by gas and candlelight. In “The Burden,” you see a woman carry a heavy load of laundry, in the company of a small child. There is both a strong narrative and feeling of pathos, as the pair embarks on a Herculean journey through a barren landscape. You almost get a feeling of heroism watching the laundress perform her daily routine.

I think what I appreciated most about copying this painting was observing what little attention Daumier paid to the subject’s faces. The laundress’ eyes are just a few expressive lines, but you are visually drawn towards the sensitive gesture of hands, and her neck that cranes forward in a swanlike movement.

Hopefully, in the next few weeks, I will be ready to share with you all some of the new paintings I am working on. I have been refraining from posting my progress shots to give myself a little more freedom to change and revise. I am looking forward to crossing that bridge and sharing those new pieces.

**This painting was made in the Post-Impressionist Painting Techniques online class at the Teaching Studios of Art.