Tag: memento mori

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in focus

Skull paintings

For years I have periodically painted still life paintings of skulls. Sometimes these have taken a vanitas approach incorporating incorporating other symbolic elements (flowers/coins/ objects) to suggest a narrative or deeper meaning to the viewer.

More frequently they are something of a portrait of the skull where it is the sole or primary aspect of the composition .

In addition to attempting to develop a striking image, these paintings function as a form of painting practice, where I try to develop aspects of my skill and techniques.

Below are some recent examples:

Acrylic, collage and varnish on hessian. Each 10.5 x 15cm
Acrylic, collage and varnish on hessian, 30 x 21cm
Oil and collage on canvas, 30 x 30cm
Oil on canvas, 30 x 30cm
Acrylic, collage and varnish on hessian, 30 x 21cm
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Categories
in focus

In Focus: You Can’t take it with you

Around 2009 I began experimenting with Photoshop as a means to develop a more experimental approach to composition and colouring, that was not so much reliant on the strictures of reality. The digital montages I produced often served as a model for painting. My aim was not to replicate a smooth photographic surface, but to treat the montage as any other 3D subject to work from.

  • You can’t take it with you (blue)
  • You can’t take it with you (green)

My thematic approach to building these images was based on the still life tradition, particularly memento mori. The two paintings in focus here were based on combining found images of skulls with my own photographs of coins, illustrating the anti-hoarder maxim of “you can’t take your money with you when you die”.