After Turner: The Fighting Temeraire

16 x 20 inches,

Oil on canvas

(commissioned work)

Well, you wait three weeks for a blog post and two come along at once. One of my commissions for this month was a copy of William Turner's famous Fighting Temeraire - or to give it its full title, The Fighting Temeraire being tugged to her last Berth to be broken up, 1839. It's a powerful image and a painting full of symbolism. Turner called it his 'darling' and bequeathed it to the nation when he died in 1851.

I have to admit, trying to do some sort of justice to the beauty of the original painting was a huge challenge, and by the end of it I was left in no doubt about Turner's genius as a painter (not that I had much doubt to begin with mind you). Although this isn't necessarily my own favourite Turner painting, I found my appreciation and liking for it grew steadily each day as I tried my best to do paint a passably good reproduction.

Sometimes, it seems, copying the work of a master artist is as much a lesson in eating humble pie as it is a lesson in how to better your own skill.