A year ago I was asked to paint a copy of the absolute masterpiece. I have to admit that at the beginning I was not very excited- in fact I was scared, not only because back then almost 1,5 years passed since I touched oil paint, but confronting with such a well-know painting can feel overwhelming.
The painting might look not so sophisticated but achieving the right hues and brush strokes was I was the most scared of. I spent hours trying to get the tonality right! After a few months I decided that I'm ready for this challenge and it came out to be one of the most exciting commissions that I ever had, and such a great and exciting way to come back to oil painting.
I learned so much from this painting, and I found it even more beautiful now than before, after staring at all the small details that make such a difference! The biggest challenge was colors, so many subtle tones of yellows and orange on her face, and this mysterious, elusive twinkle in her eyes which is impossible to copy! Tamara really did catch part of her soul in this painting and I find it more fascinating than ever after painting this copy. The copy is like the original, oil painting on the wood panel, 35x26,6cm.
Below you can see the video process of creating the copy.
You can see more of behind-the-scenes on my Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/zuzanna_salamon/
Copy of Tamara Łępicka Self portrait in the Green Bugatti
by Zuzanna Salamon; oil painting on wood panel; 35x26,6cm.