Grace Swanson

   I'm Not Sure, acrylic on canvas

Still life is a wonderful subject matter.  It gives me an ideal opportunity to study form and composition in combination with the realist concept of direct painting – the art of portraying exactly what one sees.  Often, the closer one looks, the more they will see.

I like to move objects around, experimenting with their shape, color, weight and formal structure.  It is through repetition and rearrangement of the subjects, whether natural (fruits and flowers) or man-made (matchbooks, glassware), that they take on personal meaning and intimacy.  

Then, there are those subjects that are just fun to paint - people, animals, events.  They often simply compose themselves.

So take a close look.