Still Life 2009 – 2012

Painters have always explored different subject matter in their work. Their various investigations may address different aspects of their personality. This is exactly what the genre of still life does for me. Initially I was drawn to Still Life subjects because as a painting teacher I was increasingly called upon to paint from observation for class demonstrations. Having worked for a long time from photographic sources and my imagination, observational painting was a real challenge. Gradually it began to yield some interesting discoveries, such as how to create convincing volumetric forms through the play of light and shadow. Two related, but separate subjects are seen in this section; the Tea Cup Landscapes and paintings of mementos. Both series draw upon personal memory and a love of collecting. In addition these paintings led to playing with distortion, which is a feature of a printed image on a convex object.