Still life Paintings

Still Life Paintings - Artefacts of a Pandemic 2020

This page is still in progress where I hope to produce up to 25-30 paintings sized 25 x 30 cm completed in oil on linen. A number of woodcuts have been produced as well. I have received support from the Arts Council NI & the Freelands Foundation regarding the current global pandemic of Covid 19. For the support received I had to produce a number of works that reflected the need for funding. I chose to produce a number of paintings that are focused on things that we take for granted from products we use in everyday life and more importantly these pieces are inspired from peoples reaction to the global pandemic.

The exhibition was based on my observations of peoples behaviour throughout the current pandemic. All the products chosen have a certain significance regarding our behaviour patterns influencing eating/drinking and health/hygiene habits during this time. I also sought out certain products due to the colour and text so the items painted were not just random paintings of daily household items but chosen for their significance and how we relate to them during this ongoing pandemic.

Some objects acclaimed notoriety like the most common and undesirable item being the toilet roll, where stocks of these products have vanished throughout the globe. Hilarious but at the same time disturbing seeing people's first instinct and behaviour reacting with panic and greed.

People have started trying to bring more elements of their outdoor life indoors. Working from home has become a major change of lifestyle which increased sales in technology and software. Hygiene items like bleach, sanitizer and other cleansing products have all increased in sale again showing our concerns for keeping safe which questions each others sense of mortality. I started this project last year being 2020 near the beginning of the pandemic so hopefully the paintings strike a chord with you.

All the paintings were painted from life in my studio in oil on linen. Although I consider myself to be more of a figurative painter rather than work with still life objects I wasn't entirely convinced that this was the right path for a project but once started I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it learning new skills in the form of observation and developing my painting skills.

An Exhibition of the work will take place in the Chimera Gallery, Mullingar, Ireland on the 26th March 2021. There will be video footage also of the paintings showing techniques and methods being painted from life. Check back in for new updates of work. Any questions please feel free to get in touch.

Thank you