William Tell Painting

Ho! It's time for fun at the easel. Here is a game I've come up with to make painting fun.

For this you need a copy of the William Tell overture by Rossini. You also need a picture of an old master painting to copy. This is an exercise in looseness and speed.

Under strict rules, play the music and prepare some colours. The music is about eleven minutes long, although the famous fanfare part is only about three minutes at the end, so you can spend eight minutes, ideally less, mixing a few colours for the copy. In a less strict but equally valid variation, prepare the colours and surface beforehand, just having the finalé of the music prepared.

One brush will be enough, but there will be no time for rinsing so a rag may prove useful. As the fanfare of the finalé plays, stand with the brush vertical in front of your face like a fencer en-garde, and when the fanfare ends; go! Copy your masterpiece in the three remaining minutes of the music, strictly stopping work when the music stops.

Here are some of my William Tell paintings. The two on the right were done a year before the other two. Can you identify the famous artworks?

Mark Sheeky, 12 September 2008