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February, Michigan

watercolor sketch

Today’s sketchbook exercise was inspired by this painting by Dutch artist Jan Mankes:

Jan Mankes (1889 – 1920)

As you can see, I changed my colors quite a bit, but the composition quite little. I just love the original with the geometry of the fields receding toward the distant tree line, contrasted with the “fence” of fine black vines in the foreground.

The thing that I wanted to change in my piece is the place and time. I tried to make the pale smudge of a bird in the original to be a piece of paper in the wind, the house to be a ranch home, and the lady to be an anonymous, androgynous figure in a puffy coat and visibility orange beanie. My attempt is Jan Mankes’ painting from some anonymous place down the road from here.