Delft and Tomatoes Under Strip Light

‘Delft and Tomatoes (under strip light)’. Oil on card, 8″ x 7″

Here’s a little alla prima painting to get the week going. (I know it’s Wednesday, but I painted this on Monday and have been a posting slacker.)

I’m thinking a lot about atmosphere at the moment, and what I am trying to achieve within the genre of representational / figurative art. Painting a ‘photographic’ record of what I see in front of me is not a motivation at all. A quote by Euan Uglow (an artist I really admire), struck a chord with me:

I’m painting an idea not an ideal. Basically I’m trying to paint a structured painting full of controlled, and therefore potent, emotion.

I need to develop my own way of ‘designing’ compositions. For example, how I could use light and space to create dynamic shifts in the relationships between objects, or imbue tension or calm through the colour palette. I don’t claim to achieved any of those aspirations with this little painting, but it is at the forefront of my mind, and must therefore inform some of the choices I am making as I approach my work.