Interpreting Nature

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

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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.)