The Boating Party after Auguste Renoir

Oil painting by Richard Whiteley

This classic by Renoir was a challenge for me because it has 14 separate portraits in it. Apparently all were Renoir friends, and he painted them all separately. I had a nice large photo to use as a guide but no live people. It was a huge learning experience to closely observe each of the faces and try to get as close to the original as I could. So much is going on in this woerk, the girl with the dog, two men telling some joke to a lady in the back, and the various others seeming in their own little worlds, contemplating life.