Assignment 2 – Research

Sydney Bella Sparrow – Spectrum in Silk 2008

The first work I came across was by the American artist Sydney Bella Sparrow.

She chooses simple, everyday objects and, working with a mainly black background brings these objects to life on the canvas in a realistic and vibrant way.

http://www.sydneybellasparrow.com/paintings.html

Spectrum in Silk is a small (5.75ins x 12ins) oil painting which shows exquisite levels of detail. The six cotton reels in bright colours are painted in such a way that you want to pick them up and look closely at them. It appears as if she has painted every single thread and the detail of the wooden box they are standing on is portrayed with realistic accuracy.

James White – Another Hotel  #2 2011

I saw James White’s Raid 2013 at the Nature Morte Exhibition at the Guildhall last year and it was by far my favourite still life in the exhibition. The monochrome palette and the hyper realism are things I can only aspire to. I was browsing through his paintings on this website when I came across Another Hotel #2.

http://jameswhitestudio.com/2011/nm16winw8rf6nb4unh3j0zstaydevk

This resonated with me as, only last night, I was going to bed when I looked over at the shelf on my husband’s side and wondered if I could do something with the lamp and the clock sitting on it. I was the luminous numbers on the alarm clock that attracted my attention.

Laura Letinsky (Photographer)

http://www.yanceyrichardson.com/exhibitions/laura-letinsky4?view=slider#5

Letinsky is a Canadian contemporary photographer that uses a very minimalist approach to still life. The Fall series and To Say it Isn’t So series both show still life compositions often on a white background with a strong use of light to frame the objects. She often uses pots containing consumed food or objects that suggest a human interaction. The Fall series shows objects teetering on the edge of a table.

Photographer Michelle Chaplow, inspired by Letinsky’s work, had a go at recreating a series of still life photographs herself. This is a set of 5 photographs but it was the composition that attracted my attention and I wonder if I can incorporate this simplicity into a still life painting using everyday objects.

https://hotelessencephotography.com/blog/contemporary-still-life/

The photograph I have chosen is image 4 out of the 5, but I enjoyed reading the entire article which has a narrative explaining the thoughts around each composition.

Donald MacDonald – Apple on a Wooden Table

A further painting that caught my eye was apple on a Wooden Table. Another photorealistic painting, I found myself entranced by the level of detail, the way MacDonald has painted the flesh of the apple and the wooden table.