My appreciation for Matisse's work continues to grow as I study and practice in Jeanne Oliver's Studying Under the Masters class. After the clay figures, it was time to try my hand at a painting. I chose Matisse's Yellow Odalisque:
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This image appealed to me because a) it was a nude and I found that a good challenge; b) it had pattern but not too much pattern, and I liked that the pattern was very loose.
I sketched the image out on my canvas using charcoal.
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I used a stump to blend the charcoal for shading.
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Raw umber painted into the charcoal added another value.
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Then titanium white to add highlights.
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I decided to add an underwash of Alizarin red-orange, both to warm things up as well as to tie in various parts of the composition.
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The rest of the colors were painted in, and my odalisque is done - for now.
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Funny how much I can see now that needs to be tweaked, but I'm too eager to get a move on the next section of the course: Studying with Anonio Gaudi! So, with this little sketch I did in my journal yesterday of The Green Stripe, I bid Matisse adieu!
![]()
This image appealed to me because a) it was a nude and I found that a good challenge; b) it had pattern but not too much pattern, and I liked that the pattern was very loose.
I sketched the image out on my canvas using charcoal.
I used a stump to blend the charcoal for shading.
Raw umber painted into the charcoal added another value.
Then titanium white to add highlights.
I decided to add an underwash of Alizarin red-orange, both to warm things up as well as to tie in various parts of the composition.
The rest of the colors were painted in, and my odalisque is done - for now.
Funny how much I can see now that needs to be tweaked, but I'm too eager to get a move on the next section of the course: Studying with Anonio Gaudi! So, with this little sketch I did in my journal yesterday of The Green Stripe, I bid Matisse adieu!
