Wendy Chidester

Globe Trotter

2018

One of a series of paintings of candy, or actually of the wrappers. The cellophane provides transparency, reflections and brilliant color which is a...

Willard Dixon, who says "the charm of Still Life painting for the artist lies in the ability to manipulate ones subject matter and in the intimate, direct nature of the painting process. It is very much a studio-centric activity, complete and self-sufficient. The objects that one works with do seem to take on a life of their own, both by themselves and in their affinity for one another. They have a history, a patina, they may be new, or world-weary." The artist continues, "My collection has been substantially whittled down to an essential few over the years, yet their combinations seem infinite. There is a lengthy and persistent shuffling, adding and eliminating to find that particular combination that suddenly takes on a rightness or self-sufficiency. It is interesting how one small object of the right color in the right place can facilitate such an event, or in another case the removal of something, a simplifying. I have a feeling when composing these paintings similar to my experience of playing with my jazz...

Antique American modernist still life oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed.

Flutist and Mandolin Player. 2015. Oil on canvas, 64x70 cm from series Playing Angels