Cloche – Oil on canvas (70cm x 70cm)
This piece was heavily influenced by the vanitas genre of still life painting. I looked for meaning in all elements of this piece, wanting to convey the failings of preservation and society’s pursuit for perfection.
Development
When looking at greater development of my final pieces I wanted to create more visually rich backgrounds, which I achieved through the use of fabric and draping.
Blackberries symbolise neglect or ignorance which fits in perfectly with my recent thoughts on preservation. Neglecting these fruits and hoping they stay perfect causes them to decay and our ignorance helps this cycle to continue.
I chose to include a pie in this piece because of the effort it takes to create it; the thought and time being dedicated to the creation of something such as a pie presents to the audience that even something created with care can’t last.
I thought that looking through a clear cloche would show a moment in time almost, and represents the idea of wanting to keep something as it was (at its most perfect) forever.
Photos
For my photos I used fabric for my background, taking images with both red and pink to see which I preferred. Overall, the red gave a darker feel and so these images ended up being my favourites.
The reflections around me at the time created these blocks of light which wasn’t my intention and so I decided I would paint these parts more transparently.