Creative Still Life Painting: Going Beyond the Visible

In this 10-week painting class, we will focus on building still-life paintings that are anything but still by incorporating invention and memory into our perceptual work. When we paint from observation our perceptions become a part of our bodies and begin to intermingle with our memories. We will focus on integrating our intuitive and analytical modes to make compelling paintings. Students will engage with a series of short weekly exercises while simultaneously responding to these exercises in a larger ongoing painting throughout the 10 weeks with an emphasis on keeping the work open and letting go of any preconceived outcomes. Here you will have the freedom to remember/imagine and invent what you saw resulting in an ambiguity of shapes that focus on enhancing the composition of the overall painting. In this class, we will prioritize the “true” over the “correct”. This method will encourage an open-ended manner of working where investigation and discovery are the goals. Reflecting on your work through writing will also be an integral part of the process. Some prior painting experience is preferred, oil paint is the suggested medium, but acrylic may also be used. Meetings will be on Zoom, and work will be shared on Padlet, an online platform.