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.

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.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I really love the handling of your Chinese vase. It is more common to find them with a white base color, but I have seen your gray shade on some older pieces…it is quite harmonious and you’ve picked out the gold reflections so well. I’m sure it looks even more brilliant in the flesh so to speak.
    I also recall in one of your earlier posts an image of your studio and a vase of brushes. You had some really large size bristle flats in the image. Would you care to comment on your favorites?