This ambitious series is still ongoing. The sizes vary, but all of the works are done in acrylics on canvas. I taught myself to paint in oils many years ago by setting up simple still lifes in my kitchen. This led to further investigation of the genre. Later, due to allergic reactions to oils, I had to switch to acrylics which I find easier to work with and more versatile. However, it took me about six years to get to the point where I could use them as I did oils, i.e., painting wet into wet.

I soon learned that most of the prominent artists of the past painted still lifes complete in themselves, or painted them as a part of their more complex figurative works. Matisse, Monet, Picasso, Gris, Renoir, Bonnard, Cezanne, and Manet did this routinely, as did many other artists, even some of the later surrealists. Manet maintained that any artist who could paint a still life and do it well could paint anything. In this series, you will see some of the 'oft used still life objects used by these artists, combined with my interpretation of the artist and the concepts surrounding the development of each of the works.