Working on a still life is a chance for me to take time
& slow down.
I don't have the added pressure of working
directly from someone, so I make sure everything is just
right. I am often arranging objects for awhile before I
find a composition that interests me.
A still life painting, to me, has more potential to be
abstract than other representational genres.
More
potential for hiding ideas.
I am interested in having conversations about what
painting itself is. What it's made of, how it's put
together
My paintings should be the visual record of the ideas
of a painting being ripped apart.
When arranging a painting, I usually start with some
fabric, sometimes decorated, often just white as a
backdrop, or ground. This represents the canvas
itself.
These paintings also have a different vantage point
than the viewer has.
Often, still lives are seen 'straight
on', matching the viewers point of view,
which helps
to understand the effect of 'a window to the world'
I am looking at it differently. Looking down, or at
about 45 degrees.
about these paintings
blue stripes
I found this transparent fabric, and could see it in a
painting. On the surface, it has these great blue stripes,
but also translucent, so you can see it build up.
untitled fabric painting
This painting is a muted challenge to myself. Painting
realistically fabric with it's light source coming mostly
from above, but also from underneath. Anchoring the
piece to the bottom right, is a jar of oil; what the
painting is made from.
broken glass
My wife was collecting containers for decorations for our
upcoming wedding. She was looking for ones that were
tinted purple in from sunlight. I collected a few
broken ones and put this piece together.
monument
Containers interest me. What are they holding?
I want
the viewer to put their ideas in them. In this painting,
it's and old milk container. My grandfather used to put
his change in it, for my college savings. Which I used
to study painting. On the other side is still a masking
tape label, it still says joey besch in his handwriting.
