September 18, 2018

Renewed Still Life Paintings

It has been a long time since a blog post. But I have been active in art. For my most recent paintings I have repainted old still life compositions and added a large new one. Even the new painting was a remake, although the painting underneath was a figure study. The emphasis on tiny black calligraphic lines that delineate areas of intense color breathes new life in to these old compositions.

These three paintings make use of ceramics from our collection. Thus our collection is now legitimized as studio props. The bowl that holds the pears was based upon the pottery of Jeri Burdick. Jeri also created the oblong platter upon which the grapes rest.

For the largest of the three paintings, I selected the carved porcelains of Michael Sherill. These were acquired at the Blue Spiral Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina. Perhaps these were the most inspiring to use of all. The intense textures and colors suited the freshly harvested dahlias, zinnias and gerber daisies from my garden. The background of this painting preserves much of the original pattern that was present in the figurative painting, although now turned on its side.