“Every time I paint a portrait I lose a friend…”
John Singer Sargent
Singer Sargent was one of the greatest portrait artists of the 19th century. in 1880’s London, you hadn’t made it unless you were in a position to commission a portrait from him. He became considerably wealthy painting the rich and famous (see Madam X above), producing over 900 of them. He found the work pretty tedious and barely tolerable. He used his money to travel extensively. His watercolours were different and personal. He painted over 2000 of them, usually en plein air (see the Tivoli fountain above). The palate of colours for these works was amazing, his constructions of the colour white a stand out. The images documented his private life and extensive travel. None were sold during his lifetime. These watercolours are my guilty obsession. #acolourfullife #letamakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 