Still Life with Flowers, 2007, oil on aluminum panel, 32 x 48 inches
Still Life with Flowers, detail
Still Life with Flowers, detail
I’ll talk about my approach to making this major painting, and about earlier and later works depicting flowers. In addition to taking a close look at the newly acquired painting, guests will be able see two more recent paintings. Photos of those are provided below.
To provide a view of the painting process, the slides below show eight stages in the making of a painting:
Verbena and Coreopsis, 2017, oil on linen panel, 12 x 16 inches.
Click the photograph below to see the next one in the sequence, or click any thumbnail image in the strip below to move freely from one photo to another.
Below is a photograph of a painting in progress:
French Marigolds, 2016, oil on linen panel, 14 x 18 inches
Natural light from the large north windows in my studio illuminates the setup. Although I did not take a series of photos of the process, you can see the partly finished work on the easel.
The yellow enamel table is a favorite prop, that has been used in many of my studio setups.
French Marigolds, oil on linen mounted on panel, 14 x 18 inches
A view of the studio in 2016. On the second story of a building erected in the 1840s, on Main Street in Danville, it provides large windows, high ceilings and a beautiful mantelpiece that has shown up in some of my paintings. All equipment and furniture is easily moved, shifted around to suit the needs of each project. The left edge of this photo is visually confusing, because it includes a view of an eight-foot-high rolling mirror.
The north windows in the main work room in 2017. A box of gourds is on the yellow enamel table to the right, along with the recently completed pastel painting, Speckled Gourd I. The easel on the left has a large canvas on it, which became the painting Clouds, Tree.
Working on Clementines II. 2014. The still life is illuminated by a large movable light, just barely visible in the upper left by a glowing white triangular shaper. The windows are blocked by blinds, necessary for controlling lighting, so that there is only one source, and one set of shadows. The yellow silk tablecloth was purchased in New Delhi in 2005, on a trip with Centre College class, led by Nayef Samhat. My daughter Rachel was one of the students in that class, and I was lucky to be able to join the group.
Magnolia Grandiflora, 2004, oil on aluminum panel, 26 x 30.5 inches. Private Collection
The enso, a sacred symbol in Japanese Zen Buddhist painting, appears in several of my paintings, including Still Life with Flowers. In the painting shown above, Magnolia Grandiflora, the enso can be seen on sheets of paper scattered on the floor, next to a traditional Japanese brush and a dish of ink. The symbol is a circle made with a single brushstroke, representing the unity of existence and the frailty of the artist, who must achieve a meditative focus to paint it well.
Below is one of my earliest paintings of flowers:
Bouquet with Daylilies, 1995, pastel on paper, 30 x 22 inches. Private Collection
The garden at our home, which exists only because of the talents of my wife, Ann, provides a bountiful source of subjects for my studio. The still life paintings grow out of the landscape. I have been painting that garden since we first moved into the house in 1986. Below are some of the paintings.
The Garden on June First, 1994, pastel on paper, 25 x 36 inches. Private collection
The Kitchen Garden in Shadow, 1995, pastel on paper, 25 x 36 inches. Collection of Fidelity Investments.
Cannas in Ann’s Cutting Garden, 2017, oil on linen mounted on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Some paintings I think about often…
Jan Brueghel the Elder
Flemish, 1568 - 1625
Flowers in a Basket and a Vase
1615
Oil on panel
55.2 x 89.1 cm (21 3/4 x 35 1/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Jan van Huysum
Dutch, 1682 - 1749
Still Life with Flowers and Fruit
c. 1715
oil on panel
78.7 x 61.3 cm (31 x 24 1/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Edouard Manet
French, 1832 - 1883
Flowers in a Crystal Vase
c. 1882
oil on canvas
32.7 x 24.5 cm (13 x 9 5/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC