I Tried Painting Like Botticelli But With Colors He Never Had

The masters reimagined portrait series I work on once a month takes me through a journey of learning and exploring techniques of the greatest artists in history and this month it was Sandro Botticelli.

I usually do 2 studies and one final painting of the masters incorporating techniques, colors I love painting with. For me this is about understanding what makes their work distinct while bringing my own modern twist to it.

This time around I did first a study of the three graces from Primavera. I first created a background wash using watercolor because after having looked at Botticellis drawings, they looked like he used very light wash of burnt Sienna with white. I used both pencils and pastel pencils to create that charcoal look he had with his drawings. It was hard but I realized that alot of his paintings are an extension of his drawings. being a gold engraver apprentice before moving on to becoming an apprentice of painting, it really shows his very delicate and precise rhythmic lines he can create.

What makes a Botticelli painting his? Is it the delicate, flowing lines? The delicate beauty? Or the ego of an artist determined to stand out in Renaissance Florence? I think its all of it combined into his unique artistic voice. His background as a gold engraver really showed in how he approached his art - those precise lines weren't an accident.

Usually I jump into painting but slowing down the process and following his footsteps a bit was a great learning process. I had to force myself to be patient and really study his technique before applying my own colors.

Next the Venus painting was painted from a reference photo I cant link to anymore but it was an AI generated image I suppose of a close up of Venus and I just loved it so I painted it using Rockwell Magic Wizard. Now that was fun. The paint has this amazing quality that just made the portrait come alive in ways Botticelli himself could never have experienced with his limited Renaissance palette.

And finally, Botticellis portrait. This seems to be the only one that exists so I had to paint from it as a reference. I really love birth of Venus painting so I created abackground using photoshop and added his portrait. I could have probably made the flowers bigger but regardless, I enjoyed the painting very much, I used alot of Schmincke paint, but specifically Holbein's Bourke's Parrot Pink which is a color Botticelli could have only dreamed of having.

Along the way, I had my own struggles too - even one offhand comment can throw off the whole flow of painting. I think even Botticelli must have had his days when everything felt off. But his hunger to stand out in Florence still resonates with me today. Aren't we all trying to find our own artistic voice?

The three paintings that I worked on for this project are: 🎨 The Three Graces — delicate pastel and pencil lines capturing rhythm and flow 🎨 Reimagined Venus Portrait — an intimate close-up of Botticelli's goddess using Rockwell's Magic Wizard paint 🎨 Botticelli's Portrait — with Birth of Venus-inspired background using Schmincke and that gorgeous Holbein Bourke's Parrot Pink

Who should I reimagine next? Van Gogh's calling, but I'm open to ideas. Let me know what you think!

If you haven't seen the full video yet, check it out here.