Ode to Still Life

Ode to Still Life

Still life - what an odd name for a genre of painting, but it’s been popular for centuries. You would think that I would automatically know how to describe still life paintings, but I didn’t. I had to look it up. 

Interestingly I knew what still life paintings looked like, but I had no idea how to describe them. The vocabulary wasn’t there. So we’re all on the same page here’s a definition I found online.

”Still life painting, also known as a "still life," is a work of art that features mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects that are either natural or human-made” 

Why Do I Paint Still Life?

I mostly paint landscapes, but decided to challenge myself a few years ago by experimenting with painting my house plants during the winter. Why, though? 

Amazingly and even shockingly I had tired of painting landscapes and yes, the colour green.  I needed a change and went for it. What I didn’t expect was how hard it was. Even though I’ve been at it for a few years I mostly feel like a novice and have gained a new found respect for still life painters.  Here’s an earlier still life I did called ‘Almost a Dozen.’

 


2025 Still Life Paintings 

So far this year I’ve focused on paintings inspired by my house plants. I’ve grown indoor plants  for years and give my plants names. Last year I even painted a few plant portraits. It was great fun though looking back at them they aren’t particularly interesting.  Here’s one of my lemon tree ‘Lucy.’ 


This year I’m taking a different approach. I’ve been using my houseplants to explore the idea of ‘connectivity’. Consequently most of these paintings have more than one plant and some even include vases or other objects. I recently finished one called ‘Three Friends’ which uses a decidedly different approach.

You can see all the recent still life paintings I’ve done here on my website. To see a broader selection of my still life paintings on my website go here. 

What’s Happening Next? 

I’m currently working on five more still life, but that will be it for the most part.  Spring is here and once the snow disappears my attention and inspiration will be outdoors.  I can already feel spring colours invading the paintings in my studio. 

I will be posting a video on YouTube this weekend about these paintings. Make sure to subscribe and give the video a watch. You can subscribe to my channel here. 

As always, please contact me with any questions.

Until next time, 


 

Back to blog