“Set a Spell”

Like many others, I was enamored with this photograph “Set A Spell: 1939” (http://www.shorpy.com/node/2434) by Dorothea Lange. I wanted to see what Gerhard could do with this.

SetASpell 2

Here, remarkably, is the drawn and inked version of this picture, as imagined by Gerhard.

SetASpellbw

Ger did a lot of searching to find out what the original colors of these objects might have been. Then, getting the colors right turned out to be a challenge. Intense colors looked too “colorized” and monotoned. He settled on the muted and toned interpretation, and it is remarkable.

SetASpell
“Set a Spell” (2013)
by Gerhard (1959-)
24×30 in., ink and watercolor
Coppola Collection

This is the second commission based on an historical photo that I liked over at shorty.com. The other was a painting by Oriana.