Still Life Subjects

What makes a good subject for a still life painting? An artist can be inspired by the sentiments evoked by an object, by what's available, or by the object's interesting shape or color. Just about anything goes. What's most important is how the artist handles the subject - arrangement and placement of objects, lighting, and point of view are some of the aspects to consider.

During a class I am teaching we had been painting one-object arrangements and the students had been doing well. A certain theme had developed among a group one of the class participants and I are in, and we decided to go with it. It required two objects. This was much more difficult, but the result was great fun in addition to learning. Please enjoy "Nice Rutabagas".

What has been your most unusual still life subject recently?

Kelley Gallery Miniature Art Show

You are invited to the 2010 Kelley Gallery Miniature Art Show. I am one of over 45 artists accepted into the exhibit, and I have three paintings in the show. You can see the paintings on the Kelley website, preview the show, purchase one for yourself!

A Fine Weekend at the Gibbs Farm Museum.

As a member of the Lake Country Pastel Society I painted at the Gibbs Farm Museum in August as a part of a class we were in. The farm is very interesting, with it's prairie, old buildings, and animals, giving us an abundance of subject matter. The museum director asked us to return to paint during their Apple Festival, and to exhibit finished paintings from class in their old school house. We were thrilled to accept their offer!

The weekend turned out to have perfect fall weather, and there was a big turn out. We painted, learned more about apples, informed visitors about the art of pastel painting, and were pleased to have some happy customers purchase paintings from the exhibit. I exhibited two paintings, and a visitor to the event purchased one of them. It’s always a special treat for me to meet the person who enjoyed my work enough to buy it.