Still life painting is an old type of art that was here even before the development of modern day technological systems such as photography. This is an art that involves drawing an image as it appears in life. It involves several hours of sitting because the artist wants to get a good view of the object he is drawing throughout the session. Many such paintings are costly because of the effort that goes into producing the pieces. Still life paintings always have the painter’s personal touch because different people will see different things in the same object.

A Painting of the Same Object Might Look Different Depending On the Artist

Because different artists look at things differently, it is important to note that although the obvious features on a still life painting may be the same, the finer details will mostly vary depending on the way the artist in question looks at the object. The size of the painting is a major point of departure when looking at works of different artists. When an object is done in real life size, the images may be slightly similar even though it is never easy to get accurate measurements considering that the artist has to look at the object and draw using his or her free hand. This only means that paintings of the same still life object by different artists will vary in size.

NAIVE ART

This particular painting is one I did rather early on in my art career just after I had been discovered by Elders Fine Art Gallery.  Jim Elder commissioned me to paint it for their invitations and had asked me to paint a beautiful vista!  Lol in those days I was befuddled by that request as I had no idea what a vista was, but I soon got up to speed with the language of art and loved getting immersed in the view and the flamingos.

Things That Determine the Value of a Good Still Life Painting

Besides the object in question, there are many other things that determine the value of a painting. The kind of paint used is one major factor. There are mainly two kinds of paints that many artists use. Water based paints and oil based paints. Water based paints are natural paints mixed with water. This however makes them difficult to maintain over longer periods of time especially if the painting is not framed using protective material. A simple spill of water on the painting could completely damage the painting. Oil paintings on the other hand are more durable because they are not easy to wash of. This means that they can survive longer especially if kept in protected environments. This is the reason most of the greatest still life paintings were done using oil paints.

The Purpose of a Painting Also Adds Value to the Piece

Artists make paintings for various reasons. A piece of still life painting often resonates with a certain group of people depending on the message that it sends. People have used paintings to promote campaigns, pass information, create awareness and in other instances to express their inner feelings. All these purposes have a major impact on the painting. Considering that art is always about passion, it takes a passionate feeling from the artist to capture the mood in the still life object in question. That is why some paintings turn out so memorable and emotional than others. Some of the most famous paintings in still life are those that have so much emotional sentiments. The sentiments that such paintings evoke, also contribute to making them more valuable and costly.

How to Sell Still Life Paintings

There are many art galleries that exhibit still life paintings. When one needs to buy a piece from such galleries, there are important things to consider. Many will look at the size of the painting and its originality. Every art lover wants to have an original piece that they can take pride in owning. The material used to frame the painting can also influence the cost of a piece and should always be considered.

So I wish all of you art lovers out there a wonderful time viewing all the different types of art and really enjoying the experience, us artists would like to think it adds value to your lives.

Here is a quote by Henry Ward  Beecher, that I think fits perfectly well here:

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’sPAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE andSCULPTURES for sale orWALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED

Here is another installment about our recent cruise – if you have just joined me for the first time perhaps you would like to recap with these travel and art blogs “LEAVING SYDNEY HARBOR” and  “CRUISING ON THE PACIFIC JEWEL” and  “ART,LEONARDO DA VINCI AND THE ISLE OF PINES”

THE ART OF THE TOUR

Our day on the Isle of Pines came to a close and we caught the last tender back to the boat, time for a shower followed by cocktails!  Tonight was Pirate Night and hubby fitted right in!  You see he has been “Mr Accident waiting to happen” lately, no need for him to wear a fake eye patch oh no he just went with the complete black/blue/purple swollen eye instead. Courtesy of an innocent game of Ping Pong on the ship, the day before, when he smacked head first into the only protruding object in the immediate vicinity.  Just as I was starting to think mmm.. hubby is doing well, no injuries or illnesses lately!

We enjoyed the night with a fantastic dinner and Pirates of the Pacific show then off to bed looking forward to the morning’s adventure in Mystery Island.

THE ART OF A MYSTERY

Mystery Island is at the southern end of the group of islands known as Vanuatu.  It is picture perfect with sandy beaches, palm trees and coral reefs and crystal clear lagoons offering great snorkeling.  The island was used as a World War ll landing strip for the allied forces which cuts straight through the island from one beach to the other even today.  There are no roads or people living on the island, the locals come from nearby islands to sell their shells and goods and set up stalls for food and drink.  There was even a giant pot for cooking tourists, lol as Cannibalism was actually practiced in Vanuatu as recently as 1969!!   Not that I was scared for my own life but it wouldn’t have surprised me to find hubby having tripped and accidently landed in the pot.

GICLEE PRINT

This painting (acrylic on canvas board) is called “Under the Palm Trees” and is also available as a Giclee print and Mystery Island looked a little like this.  We had been told that the island is very small and only takes 20 minutes to walk around so we decided to just catch a tender whenever we got ready and meet the others on the island.

THE ART OF GETTING LOST

Well bad mistake – the island may have been smallish but the terrain, trees, pathways, beach, reef and stalls, tourists and islanders made it impossible to find each other.  Instead we all wondered around for what seemed hours looking for each other till our legs and feet ached.  At least we got some good exercise done.  The Islanders were warm and welcoming and cute children entertained us with songs raising money for their schools.

Just before it was time to catch the tender back to the ship we finally caught up with the kids who also had wondered around looking for us for most of the day!  Oh well we still had a nice time and back to the ship for cocktails and more food and more cocktails.

Here is a quote that fits well here by a mystery author;

“ONE TEQUILA
TWO TEQUILA
THREE TEQUILA
FLOOR !!!”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.