Stephen Bradbury
Art / Paintings / Illustration / Facets / Voids/ Colour Series
Facet 4 - Not such a still life
Imagine two people standing on top of a 300ft high cliff looking along the coastline with the turbulent sea crashing against the rocks below them.
The first person standing there looking at the scene, who internally is together, controlled and serene and at peace with themselves and life finds the external violent action of the waves and wildness of nature in the scene that they are witnessing very disturbing and is fearful and beginning to freak out.
The other person next to them is completely the opposite. They have a mind full of the troubles of life, full of anguish and with no peace of mind whatsoever. Yet they look at the scene below of nature's power and beauty and think, 'How wonderful', and for that short moment in time they are surrounded by the sense of place and magnificence of the power of nature and forget the shit (pardon my use of English, I seriously can't think of a better word that sums up the crap (oops) people sometimes have to face) within them.
Facet 4 - Not such a still life
Oil on canvas
48ins x 24ins / 91cm x 61cm
Many of the elements used in the final painting of 'Not such a still life' can be seen in these three sketches which were drawn around about the same time.
The salt-glazed olive oil jar on my studio windowsill popped up in quite a few artworks.
The cliffs of the Lizard Peninsular are also quite obvious within the painting.
Not such a still life is still one of my all-time favourite paintings. It has a timeless quality about it.
The more you look at it, the more you see !