Search

Top suggestions

    Michelle Kettle, 'Garden And Pantry'

    Opening
    Saturday 08 February
    01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
    Exhibition Dates
    30 January - 20 February

    ARTIST STATEMENT

    "This collection of still life paintings further explores my preoccupation with familiar items of domesticity.

    The list of works at times reads like a shopping list; apples, eggs, garlic, onions. These are honest portraits, often pared back with the background of raw canvas exposed or painted in muted tones allowing the celebration of the subject. Garden cuttings of weeds and wildflowers are treated in the same way, their colour and texture observed in detail. I don't need to look far for inspiration.

    I have been exploring still life painting for the last few years.

    My subject matter is simple but conscientious. I choose familiar items that are close to hand in my home that I can arrange just so. I often wander out to the garden and take cuttings of whatever is sprouting that day. There is a wild area in the back of my garden with gnarled apple trees, hawthorn hedges and plenty of weeds. I can usually find something interesting there.
     

    I like to incorporate elements of nature into my paintings or cuttings that will inevitably wilt and die. There is a poignancy in that knowledge that I am simply capturing the briefest of moments. 


    I vary between overhead and face on compositions, simply to capture the subject as truthfully as I can, in soft natural light. My aim is to convey a quiet, contemplative mood and an appreciation and elevation of what can seem ordinary to most."


    BIO

    Michelle Kettle is a visual artist from Loughshinny, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
     

    She studied ceramics at the National College of Art and Design and upon graduating in 2009, moved to Melbourne, Australia. Without the immediate use of a kiln, she began painting. After twelve years in Melbourne, she moved back to Ireland with her family at the end of 2021 and now resides in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan.
     

    "I've been fortunate to move my practice into a beautifully renovated studio in my new home town of Carrickmacross. I am very grateful to have a work space that I can walk to every day.


    In Melbourne, I had been primarily focused on the depiction of architecture but with the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, my work inevitably shifted with this new confinement. My subject matter became items I found in my home instead of buildings I discovered while exploring. Thus began my fascination with still life painting. I love creating compositions I can orchestrate and arrange to my own advantage."

    Shop the Exhibition

    Two Eggs
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Two Eggs Sold
    Garlic
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Garlic Sold
    Red Onions
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Red Onions Sold
    Brown Onions
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    A Pear
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    A Pear Sold
    Three Apples From The Garden
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Thistle
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Thistle Sold
    Ragwort
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Ragwort Sold
    Tomatoes From Jimmy
    Quick View
    Send Enquiry
     More payment options
    Blue Stripes And Eggs
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    A Half Dozen
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Picked And Fallen
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Apple Tree Cutting
    Quick View
    Send Enquiry
     More payment options
    A Quiet Morning
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Purple And Pewter
    Quick View
    Send Enquiry
     More payment options
    A Firm Grip
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Bowl Of Pears
    Quick View
    Send Enquiry
     More payment options
    Bowl Of Pears $1,250
    Bowl Of Nectarines
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available:

    Bowl Of Apples
    Quick View

    Notify me when this product is available: