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.

Pigments: Historical and Modern

There is a distinct difference between modern day pigments and the natural pigments used prior to the middle of the 1700s. In the past, artists had apprentices who ground the colors for them throughout the oil painting sessions. Because they were made by hand, the pigments retained a natural grittiness and consistency with larger particle size. Today's oil paint manufacturers make synthetic colors in huge vats where the end result is exceptional smoothness. Prior to the middle of the 1700, natural pigments came from dirt, minerals, and even plants.

Cleopatra’s Garden

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Lessons from the Pharaoh's Tomb, Part Two  Cleopatra's Garden, shown above, evolved over a period of time with a "cultural blending" of ideas. My artistic license is used liberally throughout the process with many differing objects from various cultures in the composition. The "garden" is from imagination depicting favorite flowers and found … [Read more...] about Cleopatra’s Garden

Feluccas on the Nile

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 Feluccas on the Nile © Margret E. Short 2011, 12x5 Oil on panel Lessons from the Pharaoh's Tomb, Part Two Feluccas on the Nile, is inspired by a lovely warm January afternoon sailing around an island near Aswan while watching the sun create long dark shadows across the dunes. As far as the eye can see the feluccas elegantly glide over the water … [Read more...] about Feluccas on the Nile