2026 Artist Statement
The still life genre provides me with a medium to combine both conceptual ideas and skill based painting. I consciously develop a narrative as objects begin to have conversations with each other in the painting. I typically use simple recognizable everyday objects to take on the role of abstract shapes, values and color to compose and design my paintings. I direct, as in a play, using light, shadow, and reflections to create a 3D world. My hope is that my viewers will find the paintings interesting enough to enter, linger, enjoy and reflect.
An equal passion of mine is plein air landscape paintings. The challenge of ever changing natural light and colors make this type of painting very difficult and exciting. There’s always rainy days for still life, often combined with landscape backgrounds. I am still mindful of strong abstract composition and interesting subject matter. I hope to inspire my viewers with an appreciation of natures gifts however small or grand and reconnect individuals with the joy of the natural world outdoors.
2018 | SMILOW HEALING ARTS GALLERY
Nature and the Arts have the power to heal our minds and reach our souls. My hope is to provide visual and spiritual joy to individuals passing through this hallway.
The exhibit is a combination of 6 paintings created in 2017 specifically for this exhibit and 8 paintings completed over the last five years.
The waterscapes are from the New Haven County shoreline and were painted with the visitors of Smilow in mind. The very large format was a new challenge, as I prefer to work perceptually from life and needed multiple studies done on location. My goal was to celebrate a sense of poetry from the natural beauty of our coast along with capturing light qualities of both time of day and weather.
The still lifes have a very different thought process and narrative: recognizable everyday objects take on the role of abstract shapes and values and also begin to have a conversation with each other in the painting. Nothing moves and the light is consistent! I can direct, as in a play, using color, light, shadow, and reflections to create a 3D world for viewers to explore.
I am grateful to have been invited to share my passion for painting with you in this exhibit.
2017
I take joy in each of the two very different worlds of Landscape and Still life. I am happy working from a still life in my studio, enjoying the comfort (especially if it’s cold or wet outside), music, stationary light and objects that I’ve placed just so. Still life can be creative and fun as I’m able to use everything from bold colors from man-made objects as well as fruit and flowers. I can contrast colors with light and dark neutrals, whatever things I choose, to break up the space on a canvas and compose a world that I hope my viewers will find interesting enough to stop and enjoy.
I love painting outdoors. It’s a gift to be able to truly experience a location by quietly standing in one spot for hours using all my senses to take in the sounds, smells, and sights that surround me. For me, plein-air painting is both exciting and very challenging. Compared to still life it’s like trying to paint a slow moving train that will soon be gone. Composition becomes a greater challenge outdoors as I have to narrow down a big view or modify shapes for a better design. While I try to capture the play of light at whatever time of day I’m working, I also want to give testimony to the character of particular location. I choose to paint directly, from life, rather than using a photograph which sometimes means repeated visits at the same time and weather conditions.
Overall, My goal for both still life and landscape painting is to develop a visually interesting painting with a sense of poetry where the viewer will be enticed to enter, linger, and reflect.
BLUE GLASS SHADOW
I started the set up for this painting with all blue objects and at varying heights finally ending up with an eye level view. I couldn’t get excited by the blues only and started replacing objects with different colors which made the grouping I was going to paint a lot more interesting. Most of the objects you see in the painting were chosen for their color, shape, darkness or lightness or size. I treat objects as abstract elements in my paintings, breaking up the picture plane in as interesting, and sometimes surprising, way as possible. The background was boring and needed to be broken up so I added the envelopes for a subtle change. The “stamps” helped make a connection to the blue glass and red pear at the opposite angle in the painting. I hadn’t resolved the background behind the orange box until I went to the Met when the American Wing re-opened in January and revisited one of my favorite Twachtman paintings. I’ve had a print of the painting for years in my studio so as soon as I got back to the studio I put it up to copy in a somewhat subdued version as I wanted it to sit in the background. I was happy with how it worked in the painting. I am also happy to give homage to the great John Henry Twachtman.
GRAVITY AND FORM
This narrative still life is having fun with a beautiful antique Plumb Bob, typically used in construction for creating straight lines. I’ve contrasted the “Bob” with a curvaceous human female torso, mangoes, orchid plant and a sea shell. Of course, each object is sitting obeying it’s own rule of gravity and form. Ultimately the painting allowed me to use the tool, which has been used for centuries, and to enjoy it by virtue of contrast.
STUDY IN WHITE
"White on white" refers to the painting of all white objects in various shades of white or off white. Painting in this extremely narrow range of (almost) colorless monochromatic paint has been a challenge for painters for centuries.
“Study in White” was a challenge to have a colorless, all white painting that would be visually stimulating enough to capture the viewers attention and interest. I staged a collection of white objects with a good deal of variation in size, texture, shape and materials to work from. My objects included metal, plastic, and glass containers. Hard and soft objects were incorporated as well as natural elements like shells for texture. In addition, lighting was used to create drama and to expand the values from white to black with a moderate amount of color to express the warmth of light contrasted by the cool shadows.
2012
I find Plein-air landscape painting to be both exciting and challenging as I struggle to capture the ever-changing light and color of a location. I am mindful of strong abstract composition and of capturing the atmosphere of a location as well as weather, time of day, and season.
The still life genre has provided me with the opportunity to create a contemporary dialogue between abstraction, representation and narrative. Ordinary objects are chosen primarily for their abstract elements of value, shape, and color rather than any sentimental or decorative reason. In some of my paintings I am simply depicting the joy and play of light and color on a simple object. Reflections of color and on glass frequent my work. Other paintings describe a contrast of interior and landscape which is a reflection of how most of us live; inside looking out.
My ultimate goal is to develop visually interesting paintings with a sense of poetry where the viewer will be enticed to enter, linger, and reflect.
2009
After four years of mostly still life painting, I am also working on landscape paintings. The challenge of ever-changing natural light and colors makes this type of painting very difficult and exciting. There are always rainy days for still life, often combined with landscape backgrounds. While my genre has shifted, I am still mindful of strong abstract composition and interesting subject matter. I hope to inspire my viewers with an appreciation of nature's gifts, however small or grand, and connect individuals with the joy of the natural world outdoors.
I am inspired by light and how it reveals objects and nature with an endless variety of color and value.
2008
The still life genre has provided me with the opportunity to create a dialogue between abstraction and representation. I have a strong belief in the value of drawing and beauty of painting and believe that ideas teamed with craftsmanship can make powerful art that is rich with many layers of interest.
My creative process involves conceptualizing and choreographing a “stage” of still life objects. A focus on abstract elements of composition, color, shapes and value are foremost in my mind. The paintings are then executed with a realistic, perceptual approach.
FALL 2005
Glass Top Series
This group of 24 still-life studies have in common a size of 12”x12” and glass top reflections. From those consistent restrictions the individual oil paintings vary a great deal with a diversity of objects, colors, shapes, and values. While the paintings are done in a realistic style, I concentrate on the abstract elements of the paintings. I use simple ordinary objects and papers for their shapes and colors rather than any sentimental value. A great deal of time is spent carefully composing a segment of a larger world, to keep every inch energized and engaging. After deciding on a composition my approach is purely perceptual. My focus is on the constantly changing colors and values caused by light, shadow and surrounding color reflections.
SPRING 2005
Caught and Contained series, #1-3
This series of paintings has three themes: common food containers, fish and produce, and an inside/outside perspective. My goal for the viewer of these still lives is to experience ordinary everyday items in a new context in order to visually and psychologically see anew. Common, identically mass-produced containers are juxtaposed with natural world food items that are unique and individual. Combining the indoor still lives with the outside landscapes provides a metaphor for our personal up-close lives in relationship to the world around us.
Containers series #1-4
These drawings depict a windowsill view of various food containers, both man-made and natural. The objects provide a variety of shapes and forms contrasted with the negative space of light coming from behind. The recognizable, everyday objects encourage a narrative by nature of our individual relationships and histories to them.
WINTER 2004-05
Don't Bother Me is a narrative painting that evolved from guilty, uncomfortable feelings that have plagued me by not allowing enough of what I read in the newspapers or witness on the television to interfere with my privileged life. Senseless Damage was inspired by the tragic execution of Margaret Hassan in Iraq in November 2004.
2004
Although my still lifes and landscapes are painted in a realistic style, I think of my objects as abstract shapes and colors within the rectangle. I enjoy using non-traditional combinations of objects to suggest a narrative and encourage the viewer to see common things in a new light.
2003
I begin with an idea. I then use models or still life objects to play out the idea. I work from my set up perceptually, playing close attention to how things affect each other visually with color and value and psychologically with content.
When painting landscapes, I am careful to find a location where I can capture the elements that excite me, such as light, shadow, shapes and color, and how those elements reflect on each other. I fight to leave out unnecessary details.
I have a love for drawing, and I portray things in a realistic manner because there is so much I find visually stimulating in the real world.
2001-2002
My paintings and drawings include both figurative and landscape imagery. Elements of abstract design, as well as realistic painting and drawing techniques, are strongly considered. I feel that my work is rich with layers of interest, both visually and psychologically. Visual clues are used to set a stage, mood or atmosphere. Season, time of day, and even weather conditions can become important details. The use of light and shadow are often strong, seductive elements.
I consider the viewers of my work to be important because I want others to be able to relate. I prefer to use recognizable subject matter so that the viewer will have some personal association. My work should engage viewers, hold their interest and stimulate their imagination.
© Eileen Eder. All rights reserved.
