Aliveness in Still Life
Fruits, drink, blossoms, cloth and contrasts of surfaces in brilliant colors fill the still life paintings by artist Chuck Rosenthal. But these paintings can hardly be called “still.” Life and light in abundance exudes from them. They are “still” only in comparison to paintings that show action.
For example, his painting “Grapes and Daffodils” both the grapes and the daffodils appear very much alive, and light, shadow and color pull the eye of the viewer around the painting. “Still Life” is an old style of painting, but artist Rosenthal has made it new. Simple everyday things in a peaceful setting, brilliantly executed in oil or pastels attract many art buyers not only because they are peaceful everyday things, but also because they appear alive.
One art lover who owns two of Rosenthal’s paintings said that the paintings seem to take on a life of their own. She looks forward to viewing the paintings every day. “I keep them close, one in my bedroom and another in the living room. They high-light the space, remind me of elegant pasts and touchable fruit that fades into shadow so I must look closer to imagine the whole,” she said.
The artist let this author in on how he actually accomplishes the creative process. It’s not just a matter of moving some paint around on canvas. A lot of work goes into the planning and arrangement of the objects in the painting. Rosenthal said he starts out by imagining how the painting will look – he composes it in his imagination. Then he starts arranging the objects he wants in the painting in the physical universe – the flowers, fruits, basket, clothe, or bottle of wine – and changes and arranges the light falling on them. The next step is to take photographs.
A painting takes some time to accomplish. Using a photograph the artist can capture the exact minute when the light was “just so.” As time passes, the light changes, so although the original objects remain as models for the still life, photographs are needed as references for the lighting.
The next step is actual black and white sketches. Once the artist starts an actual painting on a canvas, there is little chance to correct mistakes in composition. You can paint over things in oil paintings, but the result is “error ghosts” – where one thing is painted over another. “Pentimenti” was the term old masters used for this. So to arrange linear and tonal composition, the artist sketches in black and white first.
Once he is satisfied with the composition, the range of tones from dark to light, the photographs of the original objects, the artist begins to paint, filling in middle tones across the entire canvas. This artist’s creative process is not impulsive – there are many steps between imagination and putting paint to canvas.
Viewing Chuck Rosenthal’s paintings makes one aware of just how much work went into creating them. The detail, the colors, and the use of light – all reflect a top-notch artist, who can competently paint a still life that, when hung in a room, will cause peace to prevail in the space.
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