{"id":889,"date":"2026-08-21T20:11:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T00:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/?page_id=889"},"modified":"2026-08-23T12:18:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T16:18:39","slug":"blue-hour","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/blue-hour\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Hour"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"margin-right:0;margin-left:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);grid-template-columns:33% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2761\" height=\"3488\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fregeau-art.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ce-que-la-lumiere-garde-1.jpeg?resize=2761%2C3488&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-401 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Blue Hour<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Subject :<\/strong> Portrait<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dimensions :<\/strong> 14 x 18 in. ( 36 x 46 cm)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Medium: <\/strong>Oil on canvas<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Year: <\/strong>2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Private collection<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-9e715dee wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div style=\"--wp--block-button--width: 70;\" class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline has-custom-width wp-block-button__width is-style-outline--1\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/contact\/\">Contact me about this artwork<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignfull is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:47%\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-cormorant-font-family\"><strong>In the Studio<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading has-cormorant-font-family\" style=\"font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.357), 20px);\">Time-lapse of the painting process<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" controls src=\"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Ce-que-la-lumiere-garde.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:53%\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-cormorant-font-family\"><strong>Excerpt from the Studio Journal<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading has-cormorant-font-family\" style=\"font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.357), 20px);\">Reflections and notes from the creative process<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-josefin-sans-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.119), 16px);\"><em>\u00ab\u00a0<\/em>I took this photo with a telephoto lens, which produced a very blurred, almost vaporous background. The photo was slightly overexposed. Normally, this kind of detail should have been a warning sign to a sensible painter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-josefin-sans-font-family wp-block-paragraph\">I was clearly not one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-josefin-sans-font-family wp-block-paragraph\">The work quickly proved to be much more complex than expected. Right from the sketching stage, something resisted. The photograph contained very few strong shadows, and the volumes of the face were extremely subtle. The features seemed almost to float in the light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-josefin-sans-font-family wp-block-paragraph\">Then came the skin tone. Too dark, and she no longer looked like the photograph. Too pale, and I was dangerously entering the aesthetic territory of a nineteenth-century commemorative portrait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-josefin-sans-font-family wp-block-paragraph\">So I repainted the face enough times to lose any moral right to make fun of perfectionists<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-josefin-sans-font-family wp-block-paragraph\">And despite all the corrections, adjustments and moments of doubt, I think I now understand why this portrait resisted me so much. I wasn&rsquo;t simply looking for a likeness. I was trying to paint a presence. Her gentleness. Her calm. That subtle expression you notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-josefin-sans-font-family wp-block-paragraph\">And that kind of thing is difficult to confine to a few tubes of paint.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--2\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/the-book-seller\/\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px\">\u2190&nbsp;Previous artwork<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--3\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/gallery\/\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px\">| <strong>Galler<\/strong>y&nbsp; |<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--4\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/beneath-the-arch-of-light\/\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px\">Next artwork \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the Studio Time-lapse of the painting process Excerpt from the Studio Journal Reflections and notes from the creative process \u00ab\u00a0I took this photo with a telephoto lens, which produced a very blurred, almost vaporous background. The photo was slightly overexposed. Normally, this kind of detail should have been a warning sign to a sensible [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":280890990,"featured_media":401,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Oil portrait immersed in the soft light of the blue hour, where expression and atmosphere create an intimate and contemplative moment. Oil on canvas, 14 \u00d7 18 in.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Blue Hour | Martin Fregeau","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_wpcom_ai_launchpad_about_page":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_gallery_page":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_contact_page":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_events_page":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_video_page":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_portfolio_piece":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-889","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PhfZfy-el","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/280890990"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1014,"href":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889\/revisions\/1014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fregeau-art.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}