One of the biggest questions when organizing a still life composition is deciding where the objects belong. Do they fill the entire frame, or is there a space left around the object? Are there many objects filling the composition, or just one off in a corner somewhere?
Paintings are often a reflection of our lives. How do we feel when something seems off center, when there is empty space that we have not filled with our activities? Does this painting, with the mug in the lower corner, feel out of balance or disturbing in some way? Is this how we feel when we are not constantly filling our days with ‘things to do’? And then there’s the question: if we are always busy, do we have space for anything new?
So here it is: the mug, off-center, empty… inviting in something new.
Practicing Stillness: Spacious Mug, original oil on canvas, 8.5″ x 6″
Original paintings and prints by Seamus Berkeley.
