olde master duckies
Artist Statement:
The “Old Master Ducky” series, in which a rubber ducky is painted into an old master style painting, began as a way for me to learn the use of oil paint on a number of different levels. There is a total of twelve paintings in this series. I worked to learn the styles and methods of each individual painter in order to create work that mimics the originals, recreating the style and feel of their work. I studied works by Matisse, Cezanne, Dali and Magritte, just to name several. This was a crash course in the history of painting as well as in the methods pioneered by these great 19th and 20th century painters. Ten of the pieces are original compositions created by altering and combining multiple ideas and elements from various paintings by these painters. I painted a ducky directly into two compositions, one each, by Rousseau and Magritte without substantially altering them. But all the work is done at a smaller scale. In this way, they are not forgeries or reproductions.
Don West 01-12
