Turquoise and Twigs 10″x 8″ Oil on canvas – $475
Every spring, I look forward to a specific view outside my kitchen window. There is an old Weigela shrub out there—about 30 years old now—that bursts into life with the most lovely pink florets. I have always been drawn to its delicate, almost magnolia-like flowers and the woody, tree-like structure of its branches.
Lately, my studio practice has been deeply focused on still lifes, particularly exploring the forms of fruit and bowls. But on this specific day, I felt like I just needed a direct hit of nature and the outdoors. I went outside, clipped a few twigs from the Weigela, placed them in a simple glass cup, and sat down at the easel.
The glass added a beautiful sense of fragility to the setup, and I loved being able to see the raw branch stems submerged in the water.
Around this same time, a painting friend had introduced me to working with a black background. That concept was still lingering in my mind. For years, I have been so comfortable using white, patterns, or solid colors behind my subjects. Introducing black felt entirely different.
Leaving that dark backdrop up in my studio has been incredibly enlightening. It has pushed me to see the vast array of subtle colors that can actually come through within “black” shapes and deep shadows.
Turquoise and Twigs captures that exact moment of transition for me—finding the delicate balance between the woodiness of the branches, the fragility of the glass, and a brand new way of looking at color and shadow.
Categories: Flowers, Nature, New Paintings, Original oil paintings, Still Life
