Oka – 10” x 10” (25.4cm x 24.5cm) oil on gallery width panel (2025) -SOLD
Smaller paintings are a chance to revisit ideas or explore new ones, and this one does both: In late 2019, I was commissioned to paint a wine still life with the brief to include very specific bottles significant to the patron, as well as Oka cheese. I had such a great time painting this slice of life scene that would eventually take form as “All Good Things . . .” and, in particular, the shape and texture of that cheese, I wanted to do it again, this time focusing more intensely on it. The wrapping paper the Oka is packaged in is translucent and playful, a perfect cradle for the creamy and pungent delight within. Of course wine pairs terrifically with cheese, but I didn’t want it to steal the show, just act as backup singer, there to support the star, so just a glimpse on the side and reflected beneath.
The new idea I wanted to explore was “noisy edges” like the crinkly wrapping around the Oka, I wanted a bit more visual noisiness and I wanted to experiment with using the knife to paint. I have a collection of these, and they mostly serve as a way of mixing solid piles of pigment on my palette – purely for mixing, never (until this point) to apply the paint. It felt like a revelation. The noisiness created more “juice” or liveliness which is something I’m always working towards – to make still life less still and more lifey.