• SPRING LAKE STUDIOS

    (705) 380-2983
    info@markreeder.ca
    Studio & Gallery Visits:
    By Appointment Only
    Dwight, Ontario, Canada

Still life

Still Life Paintings Available

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 →

The Country Life

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 →

What’s new in the studio.

“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 →

Learning from the Old Masters – part 1

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”.


Self portrait as a young man, after Rembrandt, oil on panel © Mark Reeder.
Self portrait as the Apostle Paul, detail, after Rembrandt, oil on panel © Mark Reeder.
Rembrandt’s eyes, after Rembrandt, oil on panel © Mark Reeder.
Study for the Head of Apollo in the ‘Forge of Vulcan’, after Velazquez, 8 x 12,
oil on panel 2004 © Mark Reeder.
Fumee d’Ambre Gris, detail, after Sargent, oil on panel, 6 x 7, oil on panel © Mark Reeder.
Roses, after Sargent, oil on panel © Mark Reeder.
Venetian street, detail, after Sargent 9 x 12.5, oil on canvas © Mark Reeder.
Bust of Medusa, after Bernini, 12 x 12, oil on linen © Mark Reeder.
after Michelangelo, 6 x 12, oil on canvas panel 2005 © Mark Reeder.
after Rodin, 6 x 12, oil on panel 2001 © Mark Reeder.
Read more →

Some older work

One of my good clients brought this piece by for a coat of varnish during a visit to pick up another painting not too long ago. It was nice to see one of my older paintings again, especially after I lost a lot of work when my computer crashed a while back. It’s also good to take a look back once in a while to see what you were doing, how it relates to what you’re doing now and how it all sits in the journey of an artist’s development of choices and inspirations.
Read more →

Painting in the garden

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.

Read more →

Still life in the studio

Daffodils, 24 x 31, oil on linen, 2009 © Mark Reeder.
Turquoise still life, oil on linen, 2009 © Mark Reeder.
Here are a few still life paintings I’ve done recently, had quite a bit of fun working on these. I really like the idea in the first one showing a subject for a painting mixed in with the tools of the trade.
Read more →