Margret E. Short Fine Arts

Portland, Oregon artist Margret Short - a modern day master of 17th Century Dutch art using the chiaroscuro technique to create still life and floral paintings.

Almost Edible

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Almost_edible_10x9_email_size_07_2 Almost Edible

10"x 9" Oil on Linen

By Margret Short, 2007

This is one of the first paintings I finished after settling into our small apartment. The linen canvases from Italian Art Store are of splendid quality. They special order this product through an outside independent supplier that does a terrific job. Priming my own canvases is one aspect of the techniques of the 17th century that became impossible to continue at this time, as I had no supplies with me nor a place to make such messes. These canvases are all hand made and have a wonderful surface on which to apply paint. Here I have continued experimenting with lapis and cinnabar. Lapis is a strange pigment because after making a very small amount, it becomes a little gooey and must be applied with a certain finesse. It takes a while to get the hang of it. Again, this pigment is wildly different from the modern ultramarine blue paints that are slick and spread easily.

More paintings to come throughout the week.

Chiaroscuro Painting

Oil painting with the chiaroscuro technique illuminates the focus area with a strong light. All other areas are painted with less detail, lower values, and intensity of color giving a mysterious appearance. By putting one or two objects in the important focus area, a strong but simple composition will emerge. Combining these oil painting techniques with a selection of superior natural pigments and oil paints result in the beautiful and evocative quality known as Chiaroscuro Painting.

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Comments

  2. great to see your new work and thanks for sharing your experiences and experiments. Your gray porcelain is a beautiful harmony between the persimmon and lapis.Even in this small screen image I can see some of your subtlety shine through.