THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE
Oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches, 2022
Limited Edition (25); 18" x 14 1/4"
ORIGINAL NOW AVAILABLE FROM
THE UNICORN GALLERY, WIDNES
LIMITED EDITION AVAILABLE FROM LIMITED2ART, RETFORD
We were visiting friends in Cornwall recently, and in a corner of the studio I spotted this original WW2 flying jacket. My mind immediately went into overdrive, and within minutes I was in working mode, arranging it in various positions by the window and snapping away on my phone. Back at home, I eagerly began sourcing all of the other objects you see here.
There is a whole genre of these 'letter-rack' still-lifes; they date back to the golden age of Dutch painting in the seventeenth century and they have been done by various trompe-l'oeil artists ever since. I really fancied doing one, and this seemed the perfect opportunity.
The title indicates that you can tell a story through objects just as powerfully as by actually showing the people. The uniformed girl in the partly shadowed lower photo is smiling. Less so the sultry-looking actress. The phone is off the hook.... pen at the ready.... the crumpled telegram.... oh, you know me by now!
