T.H. Benton's "People of Chilmark"

One of the challenges of this past year was the painting of a full-size (65x77 inches or 166x197cm) copy of Thomas Hart Benton's People of Chilmark. I first of all had to make a frame for such a large canvas. I had some help from my friend John with this.
Then I sketched the "big picture" with charcoal and started with an under-painting in acrylic. Then while over-painting with oils I got into detail.... It was in this stage that the shadows and brilliant colors came together.
During this process I learned much about T.H. Benton. I wish I had the opportunity to get to Washington to see the real painting up close to get a better feel for the brush strokes.
I signed the painting "After Benton by Elisabeth"
To get the painting out of my studio we had to remove it from the frame and roll it up.... scary stuff! We then dismantled the frame itself and boxed the whole deal up and shipped across country to the client in L.A.
I was all together satisfied...... the client just loved it.