Showing posts with label still life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label still life. Show all posts

Small Worlds


Interior "Landscapes" That Create Small Worlds

Recently, I had the thrill of opening the May issue of Phoenix Home & Garden and seeing, on P. 132, a beautiful large photo of a recent painting of mine, called “Temptation.” That definitely made my day! The painting will be part of an exhibit at Colores in early May about “Interiors, Objects and Little Worlds.”

Temptation, Judy Feldman
As you can see, it depicts a cozy living room, where the owners are ready to have some tea and cupcakes – unless Cleo gets to them first!

Never Leaving, Diane Barbee
I’ve always been attracted to interior settings, some real, some imagined. I like to paint a place where I’ve enjoyed myself, or create one where I’d like to be. But so have many other painters, including such masters as Matisse, Bonnard and Hockney. Interiors provide a vehicle for self-expression, particularly if you love color, fabrics, still lifes and window scenes.

Several other Wilde Meyer artists share these interests. Diane Barbee uses interior furnishings to express her joy of color and her optimism about life. She, too, likes to create her own world through painting. In “Round Zebra Pillow,” Diane combines images of things she likes: a funky chair and ottoman with a giant zebra skin pillow, paintings of landscapes and a polka dot dress hanging jauntily from a window. In “Never Leaving,” she zeroes in on the chair itself, using fabrics in colorful, complimentary colors. The diverging lines on the chair cushion and the wood floor take our eye to the back wall, where there is more pattern.
Round Zebra Pillow, Diane Barbee
Freshness and surprise are qualities that come to mind when viewing Diane's work. She believes that life should be full of wonder and inspiration. Her philosophy allows her to enjoy a variety of subject matter. Considering herself an expressionist; she uses color to convey that and her subject matter is a vehicle to that end. Diane is an eternal optimist and hopes to bring that optimism to every painting she creates.
My Real Life Big Screen TV, Lori Faye Bock

Lori Faye Bock also has a personalized vision of interiors. In “My Real Life Big Screen TV,” she presents us with a view from a dining table of a fanciful, walled garden. Everything in this painting is interpreted in a whimsical way. The bold colors and the simplified furniture, flowers, vegetables and animals express an endearing wonder. You could say it’s child-like, but I think it’s more sophisticated than that.

Country House, Jacqueline Rochester
The late Jacqueline Rochester expressed her love of interiors in a more tranquil way. Her color palate is softer, and although she does use patterns in some paintings, they do not affect the viewer in the same way as those in Diane’s paintings.

For example, in “The Present,” the patterned tablecloth, scarf and woman’s dress all catch our attention, but they are not the focal point. Our eyes go to the dog and the gift behind him. The angles of the scarf and the wall corner direct us to the focal point. In “Country House,” the pale pink interior is so soothing, beckoning us to come in, rest and bask in the rays from large sunlit windows.

The Present, Jacqueline Rochester

All these artists have their own personal style, but I would say that those of us who love to paint interiors aim to convey a feeling of contentment and joy to our viewers.


Who says fruits & veggies are just for eating?

Still life paintings have always been a favorite subject for artists. Some painters, like my friend Joyce, paint floral arrangements exclusively. But others prefer fruits and vegetables. Why? 

In my own case, I love the organic shape of "produce." I actually spent a few years just painting pears!
For those of us who are colorists, you can’t beat the hues of fruits and veggies. I’m drawn to these objects in a seasonal way, and seem to want to paint them in summer and fall when they are fresh at a farmers’ market.
From the August Garden  44"x48"  acrylic on canvas
by Stephen Morath
Stephen Morath depicts edible arrangements in a classical, Italian style, yet his colors are so much more vibrant. He told me that he likes to garden and be amongst the fruits and vegetables he grows, and also is inspired to paint them in late summer and fall. depicts edible arrangements in a classical, Italian style, yet his colors are so much more vibrant. He told me that he likes to garden and be amongst the fruits and vegetables he grows, and also is inspired to paint them in late summer and fall.
Peppers and Apples  36"x40"  acrylic on canvas
by Stephen Morath
"I like to grow some exotic squash like crooked neck and paddy pan because of their unique shapes," he said. I guess I’m always thinking of how they would look in a painting."
I definitely agree with Stephen when he said that painting fruits and vegetables is a respite from more complicated works. However, his still life paintings are anything but simple. As you can see in "From the August Garden," considerable work has gone into arranging and painting this assortment of fruits, vegetables and flowers.

I can sense the bounty of a late summer harvest when I look at it. His excellent rendering of the cool blue and white cloth napkin, teacup and knife are a wonderful contrast to the colorful produce on the table. In his painting entitled "Peppers and Apples," Stephen focuses on the interesting shapes and colors of curvy peppers, placed among round apples and bright yellow sunflowers.
Standing in Blue 46"x40" oil on canvas
by Linda Carter Holman

 
For Linda Carter Holman, fruits are a secondary element in her paintings – part of the setting she creates.

"When I plan a painting, I often think about creating a party, so there’s always a person, sometimes an animal, a table with flowers and some fruit," she said. "I use accessories that have meaning to me and create an inviting environment."
You can see a typical scene Linda creates in her painting entitled "Standing in Blue."
There are times, however, when produce takes front stage in Linda’s painting.

The bowl in "Mystery of Life Four" is the focal point, full of luscious fruits. But Linda still creates a setting, with some of her favorite "accessories" such as the love birds perched on the bowl and the goldfish vase with calla lilies.
Mystery of Life Four 24"x36" oil on canvas
by Linda Carter Holman
It’s a little too early for produce inspiration, but watch out for other beautiful still life paintings later in the summer!