Domestic landscapes

Still life with oranges – in progress 

I’ve never been a huge fan of the still life genre.  Living subjects are more interesting to me, but after a conversation recently, I’ve decided to explore it a bit further and see where it takes me.

Still life, can be a static exploration of light, shade and colour.  Still life can capture a reflective moment through the artist’s eye.  Still life can be lifeless in its realism, or breathe and vibrate with whimsical vibration or tension.

Still life can be interesting. And it’s part of everyday living.

It has always amazed me that paintings of domestic arrangements make it to walls, often behind breathing, three dimensional arrangements.  It didn’t really make much sense to me.  But there is, I suppose, nothing confrontational in most still life arrangements.  No eyes challenging you, or social judgements to be made – Just the knowledge that we all have the same humble needs of food, shelter, care.  Comfort.

We all share those basic needs.  And to dismiss still life as a genre is perhaps irresponsible, selfish and narrow-minded of me.

In any case, I’m doing one with the view to exhibiting it at the Mt Eliza Art show in late October.   Underpainting, done.  1st layer of colour, done.  Anxiety… still present.  But that’s OK.