Sugarlift Gallery: “Still: A Survey of Contemporary Still Life Paintings”
Hi everyone,
I am participating in a show in Chelsea, New York with Sugarlift gallery for the show “Still: A Survey of Contemporary Still Life Paintings”.
Read more →Hi everyone,
I am participating in a show in Chelsea, New York with Sugarlift gallery for the show “Still: A Survey of Contemporary Still Life Paintings”.
Read more →Here’s a quick post to share what my underpaintings usually look like. Sometimes I go pretty tight and detailed but mostly I’m keeping this stage fairly loose.
Read more →I currently have 2 still life paintings available at The Framing Place and Gallery in Huntsville, Ontario.
I love painting still life; they are one of my favourite genres to paint. I really like how you can imply the presence of someone without actually showing them.
Read more →Sunflowers, 18 x 20, oil on linen, 2013 copyright © Mark Reeder
This arrangement of sunflowers in an old milk jug on an old table I found is a relatively normal occurance around here. Taking a break from working in the garden, I usually like to put something like this together to bring a little beauty inside. It may not be considered by many to be a manly thing to do but thankfully I’m pretty secure in myself.:)
Read more →“Sexy Rexy” is a type of rose. Not too many roses do that well this far north but this species, now in it’s second year in my garden, seems to be growing very nicely. I think part of the reason why I love gardening so much is that opportunity to use freshly cut flowers as a subject for painting.
“Sexy Rexy in a jam jar” is one of many smaller works I have near completion so I will be posting some more very soon.
Read more →Sketches, studies and reproductions I’ve made over the years.
In many ways I would have to consider myself self taught, although I’m not a big fan of that way of thinking, especially considering the fact that if one is paying attention, there are teachers everywhere. Since I have no formal training much of my education has come from studying art history, drawing from life and as this post shows, studying and reproducing works of the old masters. Most of these are from 2001 to 2005 and are an example of the choices I’ve made and which artists have inspired me.
Exploring these works and trying to reproduce them taught me a great deal as I tried to understand how they accomplished what they did. Along with studying the paintings themselves and the lives of the artists I also spent endless hours studying books on the methods and materials of the old masters in an effort to absorb as much as possible to develop a sound technical practice, to create works that were properly constructed and would stand the test of time.
This list is not complete by any means. There are still a few reproductions that I’ve painted which I don’t have records of. I don’t do many reproductions these days unless I’m commissioned to do so. I have about six in the studio that I have been meaning to get back to for the last few years, but they are more for my own personal enjoyment. I hope to finish them up over the winter. Stay tuned for “Learning from the old masters – part 2”.
This is a quick painting I did of daisies I grew in my garden. I really love gardening and a big part of the reason or motive behind creating and exploring the kind of flowers I choose is also with the intention to paint them. In essence I want to create an environment in and around me not only to live in a more artful way but also to promote care, life and beauty. This ecology greatly enriches my life and inspires my choices in painting.
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