The Forlorn Rhinoceros II: Composition to Representation

The second half of this Composition study, is to take the composition which we abstracted from our representational piece in the last class (which you can find here if you missed it) and turn it into something representational again. Here is the next half of the process:

Starting this time where I left off last time, here is the composition we came up with from Claude Monet's "Gare Saint-Lazare". We've simplified the original painting into its basic values, shapes, and contrast.

After considering the composition for a while, I started sketching some new lines with the intention of representing something specific. 

This was my third try... first I was seeing a row of people and a dragon... then I went with an automobile in shed... then with an airship over a sea of clouds. Finally I rested on this rhinoceros idea.

The image above is just an overlay of the composition and the next frame, but I think it may illustrate how I tried to use some of the elements from the original composition. 

The last sketch  

The final image after textures, burning, dodging, and sharpening.

These are some of the thumbnails from the process.

The biggest changes to the composition occurred at the third thumbnail, when I shifted the lighter values from what used to be sky in the background of the original painting to a much darker background for the forest in this one. Also, the psychic lines from the rhino and the far left bird ends up directing the eye a bit differently than the original.

In the end, it was definitely a good exercise. I'm sure it will be one that our students with enjoy and learn from.