Renate: Still life #3 10x8"

Please e-mail me your comments on my work: reynoldsr118@acad.sunybroome.edu

At first I was hesitant to paint, I wasn’t confident in myself. I was focusing on making it perfect and not abstract in any way. My first still life painting was very object oriented but I established the form and color in the piece. The second still life painting I did was much more successful than the first. All the objects in the painting flowed together and no object was isolated from another. From my first painting I improved greatly. Composition wise, I think I was successful in both cases, as well as my other two paintings. I still need to improve on the way I paint because sometimes I catch myself being too cautious. But in the end, I learned how to enjoy painting even with the simple concepts in mind.

The painting of the pot has meaning behind it unlike the still lifes. It is just a pot. But it’s a pot that was made and came from Germany. The pot is symbolic of my German heritage and my family in Germany. I feel a strong connection with my family even though I rarely see them or speak with them. I talk to them through my mother and the letters that I send them. Pictures, objects, food, stories, and even a little pot connect me with them and make me feel closer even if I am so far away.

Painting an object or place that you have a connection with makes it more enjoyable. There is an emotion, a feeling, a mood behind what you are painting. I painted the pot and the painting of the landscape of Taughannock Falls more freely. But yet I keep on critiquing my work in my mind because I was associated with them. After all it was a great experience to be able to paint something that was special