Abstract Impressionist Still-life Paintings

Artist Comments
Artist Tara Zalewsky-Nease takes delight in being an artist in the kitchen as well as the studio. This brightly painted culinary still life features artichokes, red onions, and hot peppers, painted in thick, gestural brushstrokes. The painting is finished in a high gloss glaze, with the canvas sides painted bright orange.

About the Artist
Tara Zalewsky-Nease draws on the soul of the desert to create her impressionist landscape paintings. While earning her Masters in Fine Art Painting at the University of New Mexico, she experienced the magical energy of the expansive panoramas and the timeless geography of the southwest. She hiked, journaled and captured reference photography during her time there, as well as during her trips to the Pacific Northwest, France and Japan. Two common motifs in her works are hummingbirds, which are totems of good luck, and foxes, which allude to her young son. Tara has had solo exhibitions in Sante Fe, Albuquerque and Taos. She recently built a custom backyard art studio at her home in Pittsburgh, where she paints full time. When she is not creating art, she teaches art classes at several universities and also enjoys playing the piano and spending time with her pets and family.

Words that describe this painting: Impressionism, kitchen, artichoke, onions, still life, culinary, gestural, food, Mediterranean, Cezanne, Matisse, impressionism, still life, oil painting, blue

Mediterranean Kitchen...

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Artist Lisa Elley loves painting flowers, as they resonate deeply with her. In this inspiring still life, she boldly mixes pinks, deep red, and yellow. Part o...

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"Spring is a wonderful time to paint flowers," says artist Oksana Johnson. "Everything is blooming and the colors all around are inspiring. In this composition,...

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"Many types of phacelia are a welcome and colorful sight in the desert in spring," shares artist Crystal DiPietro. "In this piece, a large purple variety stan...

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Artist Sherri Aldawood encountered these glowing waterlilies in a fountain at Mission San Juan Capistrano in California. Soft morning light warms the pink flowers and lilypads while gentle reflections echo across the water. Sherri layered greens in a loose impressionist style to bring dimension and texture to the scene.

About the Artist
Sherri Aldawood didn't intend to always paint flowers, but over time her love of gardens started to permeate her art. She focuses on the light and color of the flowers on the canvas. Sherri prefers alla prima, working with wet layers of paint instead of letting them dry. She keeps the paint as wet as possible by using walnut and clove oil to extend the drying time.

Words that describe this painting: flowers, floral, waterlily, San Juan Capistrano, California, fountain, nature, water, impressionism, Monet, lily, pond, impressionism, flora, representational, oil painting, green

Three Water Lillies...

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"Spring is a miracle, especially in the Gettysburg area of Pennsylvania," says artist Jay Jensen. "The wooded areas turn that special shade of soft green, and...

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"Every spring I get inspired by spectacular blooming magnolias," shares artist Oksana Johnson. "This time, I arranged contrasting white and dark maroon blosso...

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Artist Nicole Lamothe creates a simple yet striking composition of velvety red roses in a clear glass vase. A single petal falls to the table, directing the e...

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A vibrant bouquet of red and turquoise flowers fill the composition in this joyful still life. Artist Jeff Fleming describes his painting style as kinetic impressionism. Jeff started the piece with a pencil sketch on the canvas, then with gloved hands, he applied oil paint using his fingers. Jeff says he created the energetic flowers and vase in this scene purely from imagination.

About the Artist
Artist Jeff Fleming uses fingerpainting to create exuberant portraits of dogs. Growing up in Southern California, Jeff was first introduced to fingerpainting in kindergarten. He painted through high school and college and won several art awards, including Best of Show in a city wide student competition. After graduating with a degree in journalism and advertising, he went to work as an art director. For the next 40 years, he created print, radio and television ads for a number of top agencies. "After retiring in 2019, the clouds of stress and pressure cleared and allowed me to set my creative energy free," says Jeff. He began developing new techniques focused on the excitement and energy of painting. Today, he uses a variety of methods and tools, including fingerpainting wearing nitrile gloves, traditional paint brushes, bamboo shish kebab sticks, kite string, spraypaint and splattering. While working, Jeff always listens to music, including Broadway musicals, dance music and rhythmic Hawaiian tunes.

Words that describe this painting: impressionism, flowers, vase, spring, blooms, Iris Scott...

Artist Comments
A glowing still life of sunflowers and wildflowers arranged on a rich blue backdrop. Artist Jeff Fleming describes his painting style as kinetic impressionism. Jeff started the piece with a pencil sketch on the canvas, then with gloved hands, he generously applied oil paint using his fingers. Jeff says he created this scene purely from imagination.

About the Artist
Artist Jeff Fleming uses fingerpainting to create exuberant portraits of dogs. Growing up in Southern California, Jeff was first introduced to fingerpainting in kindergarten. He painted through high school and college and won several art awards, including Best of Show in a city wide student competition. After graduating with a degree in journalism and advertising, he went to work as an art director. For the next 40 years, he created print, radio and television ads for a number of top agencies. "After retiring in 2019, the clouds of stress and pressure cleared and allowed me to set my creative energy free," says Jeff. He began developing new techniques focused on the excitement and energy of painting. Today, he uses a variety of methods and tools, including fingerpainting wearing nitrile gloves, traditional paint brushes, bamboo shish kebab sticks, kite string, spraypaint and splattering. While working, Jeff always listens to music, including Broadway musicals, dance music and rhythmic Hawaiian tunes.

Words that describe this painting: impressionism, flowers, vase, spring, blooms, Iris Scott...

Artist Comments
"Ramen soup is a favorite of many. I have been lucky to observe the chefs make the soup from noodles to broth to having a shot of sake," says artist Jesse Sal...

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Soft light falls tenderly upon a pink waterlily in full bloom at Mission San Juan Capistrano in Southern California. "In this painting, I wanted the water lil...

Artist Comments
"The vase in this painting is the main character," says artist Oksana Johnson. "This handmade Italian ceramic piece is a work of art in and of itself. I selected other elements for this composition to support and complement its timeless charm." Oksana applied distinct brushwork on the blue and white vessel and created a striking balance of color with the soft peach roses.

About the Artist
Oksana’s paintings embody the tradition of Impressionism in the truest sense of the style. While Impressionism in its 19th Century roots was intended to change both the method and perception of painting modern life, Impressionist work in a contemporary context is arguably entirely about aesthetics. Oksana’s paintings beautifully capture serene city and garden scenes with soft painterly strokes and a delicate depiction of light. She often works en plein air, particularly when she travels in Europe, following in the footsteps of the Impressionist masters. When she’s not travelling or painting outdoors, Oksana can be found admiring her tranquil view of the Pacific Ocean from her San Francisco home and studio.

Words that describe this painting: flowers, bouquet, still life, roses, table, floral, vase, impressionism, still life, representational, oil painting, purple

Yellow Roses and Italian...

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"I used a palette knife to paint a feeling," says artist Judy Mackey. In this upbeat still life, Judy rendered a bouquet of bright red carnations, adding abstract dashes of yellow and red to build the emotion of the scene she experienced in her studio. She worked all prima, layering wet on wet paint until she achieved the desired sculptural surface.

About the Artist
Originally from Japan, Judy Mackey embarked upon her professional artistic career over a decade ago after connecting with a local artist. He taught her how to skillfully wield a palette knife instead of a paintbrush, which gave rise to her own stylistic development. Judy uses this technique to create heavy texture. Her medium of choice is oil paint, with which she enjoys mixing and creating new colors with limited pigments. Her work glows with sweet simplicity in a painterly, impressionistic style.

Words that describe this painting: flowers, floral, vase, still life, impressionism, palette knife, alla prima, texture, carnations, impressionism, flora, representational, oil painting, blue

Grocery Store...

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A dreamy still life of peach and white roses, a gold-rimmed teacup, and a red candle. "Edges, edges, edges," says artist Lisa Nielsen. "The longer I paint the m...

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Artist James Hartman created this summer still life using the Zorn palette. Named after the Swedish artist Anders Zorn, the limited palette consists of just f...

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A green hydrangea on a black background. Artist Judy Mackey used her palette knife to build the texture of the subtle green and warm white petals. "I isolated...

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A warm impressionist still life of pink peonies against a pink backdrop. "Soft, happy colors are what I envisioned," says artist Judy Mackey. "I created the u...

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An impressionist still life of sunflowers and apples arranged on a tabletop. Artist Claudia Verciani focused on the stunning contrasts in this classic arrange...

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An elaborate still life setting filled with fruit, flowers, dishware and items from James's studio. Warm orange, red and yellow pop against purples and greens. ...

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Artist Nicole Lamothe says her focus in this soft, warm still life was the glowing sunlight streaming through her studio window. "I arranged the pair of yello...

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Continuing with his recent theme of still lifes composed of meaningful objects he's collected over time, artist James Hartman approached this composition with...

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Naoko describes this vibrant scene as a walled garden where all kinds of herbs and medieval plants are in full bloom. The sun shines brightly, illuminating the ...

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This painting is about combining realism, abstraction, color, spontaneity - all of the things that I think make for an exciting and engaging piece of art.

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Pamela Blaies was inspired by a little slice of light shining into her studio late one afternoon while she was cleaning up for the day. The illuminated stash ...

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While the artist painted this scene from life, the aroma of lavender filled the studio. "The atmosphere seemed to calm the storms of the day," Pamela recalls....

Artist Comments
I really love still life. Nothing helps me grow more as an artist than painting still life. It sits for one so patiently as you strive to capture it's image on your canvas. But it challenges me also. It's not easy to keep it from looking static and void of life. I think I was able to give this one some of the energy of light and color that it was patiently showing to me. A juicy harmony of fruit and flowers and deep cobalt blue glass...

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My favorite Italian movie is Pane e Tulipani. It's a beautiful mid-life crisis sort of movie and the English translation is Bread and Tulips. I think that's why I titled this Mamma Mia...

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I wanted to keep this painting soft and simple with few pastel colors. My inspiration was the combination of pinks and yellows - although in this piece it is a muted yellow ochre.

About the Artist
Originally from Japan, Judy Mackey...

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A floral arrangement in purple vase painted with the palette knife. The painting has a lot of textures and though an impressionism, it leaves a lot to the vi...

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I was inspired by Easter Lilies. The paint on this piece is thick and textured. This painting is on gallery wrapped canvas with finished white edges. It comes varnished and ready to hang.

About the Artist
Originally from Japan, Judy Mackey...

Artist Comments
Springtime in the Garden - I wanted to paint in warm, spring-like pastel colors and came up with this floral. Pinks, light blues, yellows. Painted with the ...

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A cup of tea is more enjoyable with the aroma of roses. On this painting, I built up heavy texture with many layers.

About the Artist
Oksana’s pa...