Interpreting Nature

Joke Frima’s nature-themed still lifes are often painted directly from studio setups

The same fruits, but very different in appearance. This is the idea behind the title of my still life Equality and Diversity. The picture can be seen either as a metaphor or as a realistic representation of fruits and branches. I invite people to view it according to their own taste and insight. In describing the creation process of this still life, I describe my painting technique and where this technique comes from.

I climbed up a ladder and cut a large branch from a quince tree. I placed the branch with its yellow quinces on a high red table and chose a blue background. An intuitive choice based on what seemed interesting to me. Only later did it strike me that I had chosen primary colors.

Sometimes people look down on the still life, which is an unjustified attitude in my opinion. A still life offers enormous freedom. The choice of subject is almost endless.

Composition and surface division is essential. The choice of lighting is easy to control. Not needing a live model means you can work on the painting over a long period. And you don’t need the help of photographic reference material. (Although with this still life, I did use some photos for the leaves, which soon started to wilt.)