Lely’s Venus

During the recent London visit, I sketched a marble statue of Venus in the British Museum, which was included in a recent post. Lely was an artist and collector during the reign of King Charles I; the sculptor is unknown.

I decided to work with the Lely’s Venus drawing and see if I could transform it into a color print. My goal was to combine the traditional character of the original sketch with a contemporary style, abstract coloring contrasted with muted and subtle colors, and graphic boldness. 

I didn't really know that was my goal, but I’ve decided it was since, in my opinion, it pretty much turned out that way. 

Lely’s Venus
Archival Digital Pigment
28" x 40" 

Lely’s Venus detail. 

Paintings

Since getting home from London I’ve been going through photos and picking a few from which I can create some canvases and experiment with some techniques and styles.

Detail from a digital painting based on a photo taken in Le Pain Quotidien, a coffee shop near Goodge Underground Station where we started each day with a latte.