Posted on 2 Comments

Looking for Affordable Art?

Here’s 10 still life works for under £200.

The world of online galleries is full of brilliant work by talented artists so I have put together 10 affordable gems that I have spotted recently. This selection is from Artfinder but many of these artists are also on Saatchi Art and many also have their own websites. They are all worth checking out.

image014.jpg

Still life with mango (pastel) Pastel drawing by Dima Braga  £35  Now £26

image008.jpg

Apricots  Acrylic painting by Peter Orrock £30

image010.jpg

Still Life with bay view Acrylic painting by Tim Treagust £35

image009.jpgJug and glasses Oil painting by Laura Stamps £50

image003.jpg

Still life 28 / 16 x 11 cm  Oil painting by Maja Đokić Mihajlović £59

&
nbsp;

image006.jpgBoxed Still Life Oil painting by Emma Cownie £125

Website www.emmacownie.artweb.com

image007.jpg

Still Life, Acrylic painting by Haelyn Y £141

 image012.jpg

Orchids in vase and pomegranate Acrylic painting by Irina Moroz £132

image001.jpgJohn Mulberry “The Plant by the Window” £180

image011.jpg

DX T.U. Oil painting by Gaetano Vella £202

OK this last one is over budget by £2 but its still a gem!

Posted on 16 Comments

Still Life?

Morandi-poss-5
Giorgio Morandi – Still Life Blue

 

“I am essentially a painter of the kind of still life composition that communicates a sense of tranquillity and privacy, moods which I have always valued above all else.” – Giorgio Morandi.

 

 

 

tom-wesselmann-still-life-24-1963.jpg
Still life #24, 1963 by Tom Wesselmann

 

“The challenge for an artist is always to find your own way of doing something.” Tom Wesselmann (pop artist)

 

 

 

1200px-Still_Life_of_Flowers_by_Adelheid_Dietrich,_1868,_oil_on_wood_-_National_Gallery_of_Art,_Washington_-_DSC00103.JPG
Adelheid Dietrich 

 

Once upon an time artists were regarded as skilled craftspeople. The purpose of their work was to glorify God and other religious subject matter. The Renaissance changed all that and in Protestant Europe, in the Netherlands in particular, painters had to find new wealthy patrons.

Some artists, like Vermeer, painted beautiful domestic scenes and other painted lush and abundant still lives. In a time before photography, the still life painting was a status symbol. A way of preserving one’s riches in a visual medium.  Long after those flowers had wilted and died, the painting was still on the wall of the patron’s house.

Personally, I have a love-hate relationship with still life painting. I think I associate the painting of still lives with the art I did at school. I suppose it’s because I like the outdoors as a subject as well as lots of natural light.  Here are a few examples from long ago. The first two on the left are done in oil pastels and the fruit with bottle was done in acrylic paint.

I have usually only painted still lives when I have been stuck indoors because of bad weather or winter darkness. It has been very gloomy and wet here lately, So I have been playing around with still lives as a subject matter but I have been dissatisfied with the composition of the pieces I did.

I eventually decided that my view point was too high up. Maybe the problem was that I didn’t know what I wanted from these paintings. Giorgio Morandi was interested in the relationship between the objects in his paintings. Tom Wesselmann’s pop art evoked the wealth of the USA consumer society and drew on the language of advertising.

I liked the utilitarian plainness of the enamel plate, cup and the white tea pot but my objects looked a bit lost on the table. In the end, I decided that my canvas was too big and the viewer wasn’t connected to the objects in the paintings. I needed to be closer and lower down. So I have now come down in scale and view point and toned down the colour, a lot. I ditched the fruit.

It seems to have done the trick. I feel closer to what I am painting. I find that whites against white background are surprisingly interesting (this is coming from  someone who loves bright colours). I like the clarity and simplicity. Painting like this is very challenging for me. You have to be very precise and there’s no where to hide. So perhaps I am coming round to Morandi’s “sense of tranquility” after all!

Bottle and Milk Jug

Milk Jug and Green Bottle