Alone, Together: A Still Life Collection on Copper
I’ve just released a mini collection of 3 paintings on copper panels, and I’m super excited. This is something I’ve always wanted to do but it’s taken me a bit of time to feel ready. For this first collection I’ve been inspired to portray a trio of traditional still life objects.
Aside from taking the opportunity to work more with a beautiful material like copper, I’ve been doing a lot of reflection (see what I did there?) on the past year that bridged graduation from the academy and working alone in my studio. Those months have been been highly charged with all kinds of strong emotions. After years being crammed in school studios alongside dozens of other painters, suddenly that sense of community and camaraderie is gone. What happens when our time is done and we disperse? How well do we cope on our own? After all, some of us are less used to being up front and center stage.
So, here are three friends which now work alone. A bone, a book, blooms. In a traditional painting they might have been grouped together but here they are painted as individual portraits. You could hang all three together on a wall arranged however you like (which would be wonderful) but each, I hope, stand proud on their own.
They’re now available on my web shop here.
The not-that-technical deets
These are painted 0.9mm thick copper panels and come unframed. While heavy, they are thin and you may want to mount them on foam/gatorboard before framing to give them bit of depth. But they will also look beautiful as-is, propped on a mantel or a shelf.
They’ve been varnished to protect the paint and this should also prevent further oxidation of the copper beneath. However, please use common sense when handling the paintings and be careful about scrapes that may damage the surface.
I‘ve tried to photograph them up close to show the effect of oil paint on copper, which is quite a different experience than looking at paintings on canvas or wood. When working on a metal surface the painting always looks a bit different as you move around the room and the light bouncing back gives the colors a beautiful glow.
Thank you so much to everyone over the past few weeks who expressed support for this collection! I love it so much and hope you do, too.