Robert Henri The Spanish Gypsy 1912, Ink on Paper, 6"x4"
Once again I find myself in the Public Storage section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. First let me say how much I appreciate the non-tourist area of the Met. in this storage area, especially considering all the visitors to NYC for the holidays.
Second, Robert Henri is one of my favorite painters. I think the way he paints people is so sincere. Spanish Gypsy is hanging at my eye level and I felt as if we could have had a conversation while I was sketching this painting. Robert Henri has a book titled the Art Spirit and every couple of years I reread it and learn a little more than the previous reading. Sometimes I think about the dead painters and wonder which ones I would like to have studied with, he would have been one, among many others I would have chosen.
Other helpful books I read -
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies by Whistler
Hawthorne on Painting, Hawthorne
The Practice and Science of Drawing, Speed
Oil Painting Techniques and Materials, Speed
John Sloan on Drawing and Painting, Sloan
