Orchids and Old Things
- 50 x 70 cm (19.685 x 27.5591 in)
- Oil on Linen Canvas (unframed)
- Original Still Life Painting
- © 2016 Kelly Borsheim
- Available
The Painting Inspiration: Not what you might think
I had just moved into a new, but temporary home after several months of stress and with people that I had considered friends who both abandoned me without much thought. [A long-time art student had broken his femur and thus cancelled out of lessons, despite the fact that I had taken a contract to live in that town for two months while teaching him while I was in transition. I had to live with whatever I had in my suitcase until I could sign the contract on my new home. Combine that with a five-year friend who had offered to store my things while I was out of the country, only to have him decide that I wanted to leave my things in his storage room because I secretly wanted to marry him. WHA???? At least I was able to convince him to wait until I was back in the country to pick up my own things... Such drama and why? It is 2025 as I write this and I still have no idea about what really went on in his life.]
Enough of the gossip. Transitions are difficult at times, but certainly always INTERESTING. Still, I wanted some normalcy. I signed the contract on my new home in the hills, but I needed to honor my commitment in the city for those two months. To come back to feeling myself again, I decided to start painting.
I gave myself an unusual exercise: gather objects in my collection of random things and do not think about storytelling. Instead think about light and dark, different shapes and different textures. Thus, you see the soft "spongy" texture of a bone, the shiny, reflective quality of a silver metal oil can (plus the compositional perks of the long thin spout and the long handle). Those last two parts gave me diagonals into the verticals and horizontal lines. I loved the rusty door lock and bought it at a flea market. Then I added the orchids to add another organic shape and the balance the light shape of the bone.
I find the overall neutral color scheme of browns and greys calms me. And I enjoy the various textures: wood, rust, metal, porous bone, and soft petals. This exercise grounded me and shortly afterwards, I was able to move into the permanent (I hope) place and start my life again OUT of Limbo Land.
This oil painting on primed linen is actually 50 h x 70 cm (19.685 x 27.5591 in). She is sold without a frame, but the canvas is stapled on the BACK side of the stretcher bars, as seen in the images. No hanging hardware included. Ships from Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
My beau at the time commented that this is an unusual still life, but thought maybe someone would appreciate the so-called randomness. I cannot help but wonder if someone will KNOW a story that connects these objects. The universe works that ways more often than not. What do you feel when looking at this composition?
If interested in adding this still life painting to your art collection, please: