Leonardo da Vinci

Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.

--Leonardo da Vinci


Showing posts with label Food for Thought. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food for Thought. Show all posts

Friday, May 18, 2012

Thoughts on Painting Still Life


Food for Thought
16x20

Still Life painting is a great passion of mine. And i think for most people, you either love em', or you don't. For me, still life's hold a special place in my heart, for that's when colors and values and shapes, began to make sense to me.
I also enjoy the gathering of trinkets and formulating them into a display. And, I gotta tell ya', you just haven't lived until you've wandered through thrift stores looking for interestingly shaped items that are just begging to be re-purposed. It truly is great fun. However, some items, like the bud vase, was my mother's, the book is my wife's, and the flowers are snips from our yard.
I knew i wanted this painting to be full of texture and that it would take multiple sittings to get it where i wanted it. The whole thought process that takes place with problem solving (the application of paint to a painting revisited) is quite freeing and magnetizing. Freeing - in terms of not having to dial everything in during the first pass or two because i know i'm going to refine as i go. And magnetizing - because each visit is like a new painting, only better. The juicy thick paint being pulled and dragged, grabs like a saber tooth tiger and reveals wonderful nuances.
If you already enjoy painting still life's, i might be preaching to the choir. If you don't, i would urge you to give it a shot - you never know, you might succumb to the power of the still...and if you're an appreciator, you probably already have.