Pigment print on canvas, 45 in x 30 in
“The Harp Lesson” was created for Jessica and depicts her taking a harp lesson with harpist Janice Ortega. The scene is Jessica’s apartment looking out over the San Francisco City Hall.
I had two art inspirations. One was David Hockney’s 1971 portrait of Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell and their cat. I wanted to make sure Jessica’s cat Peety made an appearance! The second inspiration was ‘The Music Lesson’ by Johannes Vermeer, c.1662 – 1665. Both these paintings have a sense of space and stillness, of inside and outside. Both depict people in interiors with an exterior world seen through a doorway (Hockney), or from light streaming through windows (Vermeer). Both paintings involved relationships between two people.
I created “The Harp Lesson” from direct observation during three live sittings, each lasting about two or three hours, plus I did some work in my studio. The primary paint medium was the iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. I also used Corel Painter with a Wacom graphics tablet. The final digital painting was printed at a size of 45 in x 30 in on fine art canvas with pigment inks and mounted in a float frame. It was sized to fit above a doorway facing the same main room I depicted in the painting, where Jessica practices on the harp.
The printed artwork was extended with an Augmented Reality (AR) video showing the time-lapse replay. The AR is viewable in the print using the free AR app HidNFlix (available on the Apple AppStore or on Google Play).
Thank you, Jessica, for commissioning me to make this artwork and for your wonderful creative inspiration! I am so glad it’ll bring you many years of pleasure in your home.
Thank you, Janice, for being a wonderful co-subject and participant in this artwork.
Janice’s website: BayAreaHarp.com
I love working on customized artwork projects. Please email me at jeremy@jeremysutton.com if you’d like to discuss commissioning me to create a unique personalized artwork for you!