Coloured Pencil Study of Sunflowers by Vincent van Goch
Original
Title: Sunflowers (Tournesols) (4th Version)
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Medium: Oil Painting on Canvas
Date: December 1888
Dimensions: Height: 92.1 cm (36.2 in) Width: 73 cm (28.7 in)
Coloured Pencil Study
Title: Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh
Artist: John Lazenby
Medium: Prismacolor pencils on 350gsm Bristol Board
Date: February 2025
Dimensions: Height: 58cm (22.8 in) x 45.5cm (17.9 in)
Sunflowers (original title, in French: Tournesols) is the title of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.
The first series, executed in Paris in 1887, depicts the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set, made a year later in Arles, shows a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase.
In the artist's mind, both sets were linked by the name of his friend Paul Gauguin, who acquired two of the Paris versions. About eight months later, van Gogh hoped to welcome and impress Gauguin again with Sunflowers, now part of the painted Décoration for the Yellow House that he prepared for the guestroom of his home in Arles, where Gauguin was supposed to stay.
The fourth version of the painting was attacked on October 14, 2022 by environmental activists from the Just Stop Oil campaign, who threw tomato soup at it, while it was on display at National Gallery in London, before gluing their hands to the wall. The painting was covered with plexiglass, and it was unharmed with the exception of minor damage to the frame.
The two activists were arrested and the painting was put back on display later that day. The two activists were found guilty of criminal damage in July 2024, and sentenced in September to 20 and 24 months in prison, respectively.
Coloured Pencil Study of The Smoker by Vincent van Goch
Original
Title: The Smoker (Le Fumeur)
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Medium: Oil Painting on Canvas
Date: December 1888
Dimensions: Height: 62.9 cm (24.7 in) Width: 47.6 cm (18.7 in)
Coloured Pencil Study
Title: The Smoker (Le Fumeur)
Artist: John Lazenby
Medium: Prismacolor Pencils 350gsm Bristol Board
Date: January 2025
Dimensions: Height: 62.9 cm (24.7 in) Width: 47.6 cm (18.7 in)
Vincent van Gogh use of colour in portraits.
van Gogh lived during the Impressionist era. With the development of photography, painters and artists turned to conveying the feeling and ideas behind people, places, and things rather than trying to imitate their physical forms. Impressionist artists did this by emphasizing certain hues, using vigorous brushstrokes, and paying attention to highlighting.
Vincent van Gogh implemented this ideology to pursue his goal of depicting his own feelings toward and involvement with his subjects. Van Gogh's portraiture focuses on color and brushstrokes to demonstrate their inner qualities and Van Gogh's own relationship with them.
John’s drawing is the same size as the original painting and he has tried wherever possible to mix and blend colours to match the exact colours that van Gogh would have used. John has completed the drawing by adding all of the fine detail marks, lines, brush strokes exactly as they are on the original painting.
Coloured Pencil Study of The Mona Lisa
Original Painting Details:
Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Year: c. 1503–1506, perhaps continuing until c. 1517
Medium: Oil on poplar panel
Subject: Lisa del Giocondo
Dimensions: 77 cm × 53 cm (30 in × 21 in)
Location: Louvre, Paris
Study Drawing Details:
Artist: John Lazenby
Year: 2024
Medium: Prismacolor pencils on 350gsm Bristol Board
Subject: The Mona Lisa Painting
Dimensions: 77 cm × 53 cm (30 in × 21 in)
Location: Private Commission
On close inspection the original painting is almost completely covered with cracked oil paint. John has tried as hard as possible to emulate the exact look and feel of the original painting using his preferred medium of Prismacolor pencils. John has tried to replicate the painterly look of the original using both hard and soft blending techniques. John has also tried to replicate the dark aged look of the original.
Total time spent drawing: 97 hours.
Private Exhibition USA
Private Exhibition of the works of John Lazenby Fine Art including The Vermeer Studies. at the private Michigan residence of Johns Patrons Beverly Brooks Whitbeck and Neil Whitbeck.
Coloured Pencil Study of The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer - Circa 1660
Title: The Milkmaid - Creator: Johannes Vermeer - Date created: Around 1660 - Style: Northern Netherlands School - Physical Dimensions: w410 x h455 mm - Original Title: Het melkmeisje - Type: Oil Painting - Medium: oil on canvas
John Lazenby Study
Title: The Milkmaid (69 hours to complete) - Creator: John Lazenby - Date Created March/April 2024 Physical Dimensions: w410 x h455 mm - Type: Drawing - Medium: Prismacolor pencils on 350gsm Bristol Board
A maidservant pours milk, entirely absorbed in her work. Except for the stream of milk, everything else is still. Vermeer took this simple everyday activity and made it the subject of an impressive painting – the woman stands like a statue in the brightly lit room. Vermeer also had an eye for how light by means of hundreds of colourful dots plays over the surface of objects.
John’s drawing is the same size as the original painting and he has tried wherever possible to mix and blend colours to match the exact colours that Vermeers would have used. John has completed the drawing by adding the fine detail cracks in the oil paint exactly as there are on the originals.
(NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE)
Coloured Pencil Study of The Girl With The Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer - 1665
Girl with a Pearl Earring (Dutch: Meisje met de parel) is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, dated c. 1665. Going by various names over the centuries, it became known by its present title towards the end of the 20th century after the earring worn by the girl portrayed there. The work has been in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague since 1902 and has been the subject of various literary and cinematic treatments.
The original painting by Vermeer measures 44.5cm × 39cm, 15 in × 17.5 in. The pencil study by Lazenby measures A2, 42cm x 59.4cm, 16.5 in x 23.4 in.
Lazenby has therefore added additional detail at the top and bottom of his drawing in order to fill the A2 sheet.
The original by Vermeer was painted with oils on canvas. Lazenbys drawing is done using Prismacolor pencils on 350gsm Bristol Board.
Lazenby has attempted as much as possible to replicate the painterly effect of the original piece. Even down to the cracks in the oil paint.
The study began on 7th February 2024. Completed 13th February. Time to complete 53 hours.
(NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE)
A Coloured Pencil Study of The Girl with the Wine Glass by Johannes Vermeer - 1659
The Girl with the Wine Glass (Dame en twee heren) is an oil on canvas painting by Johannes Vermeer, created c. 1659-1660, now in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, in Braunschweig.
The pigment analysis done by Hermann Kühn shows Vermeer's use of the expensive natural ultramarine in the tablecloth, lead-tin-yellow in the oranges on the table and madder lake and vermilion in the skirt of the woman.
The original painting by Vermeer measures 78 cm x 67cm. The pencil study by Lazenby measures 84.1 cm x 59.4 cm. Lazenby has therefore added additional detail at the top and bottom of his drawing in order to fill the A1 sheet.
The original by Vermeer was painted with oils on canvas. Lazenbys drawing is done using Prismacolor pencils on 350gsm Bristol Board Lazenby has attempted as much as possible to replicate the painterly effect of the original piece.
The study began on 25th January 2024 and was completed 6th February 2024. Time spent in total is 84 hours. (NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE)
Watch how it was made https://youtu.be/P5CVl7dQ7pg?si=NZGJvLaiIuu26lnk
Coloured Pencil Study of The Little Street By Johannes Vermeer - 1659
The Little Street (Het Straatje) is a painting by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, executed c. 1657-1658. It is exhibited at the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam, and signed, below the window in the lower left-hand corner, "I V MEER.
Vermeers original painting measures 54.3 cm × 44 cm (21.4 in × 17 in). The painting was created using Oil on Canvas.
Lazenbys study measures 59 cm x 42 cm (23.4 in x 16.5 in). The drawing will be created using Prismacolor pencils on 350gsm Bristol Board.
I did a basic under layer of colour over the upper part of the work which is the sky area. On zooming in to the image of Vermeers original I could see in some areas that the brush strokes are clearly visible. I will replicate those areas as I see them. I note that there is gold pigmentation mixed in with Vermeers blues and greys. I will be taking the time to gently dot the whole of the blue background with miniscule flecks of gold so as to replicate the antique look of Vermeers original.
I'm conscious that I need to take my time to zoom in and add the many hues of gold, ochre, purple, terracotta, browns and reds to the tiles and brickwork which to the untrained eye might just look slightly off black. Using all of these colours and focusing on the fine detail is definitely giving the drawing a painterly period look. I spent 82 hours on this study. (NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE)
