Silver on black shelf

This scene was from a cafe I frequent and included a number of vintage silver pots and jugs they use for tea orders. There were two aspects of this scene that I was curious about capturing. The first was the mix of styles between the industrial window, old security grid, and metal shelf with the older style of the silver. The second was something I had to deal with as a film photographer, and that is colour temperature. The backlighting is daylight which is a bluer light with a higher colour temp. The front lighting is the incandescent 'style' of warm lighting that mimics old filament lightbulbs. This created an interesting contrast in this composition.

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I completed an art degree in photography and worked for a number of years as a product photographer. Observing light in the studio and natural settings and the way light responds to man made objects, predominately metal and glass, informs the nature of my work. Light gives dimension and transforms ordinary objects. Dismissing both meaning and narrative in the compositions I simply focus on the play of light and the beauty it creates through reflection and refraction.

Oil is my preferred medium and some of my earlier works pay homage to my admiration of the Dutch Masters in the richness of colour and light, although I have moved on to a more contemporary style. Oil paint also has a great dynamic range and gives a wonderful vibrancy. I use pallet knives in preference to brushes as they allow me to maintain a sharpness in detail and a give a wonderful finished texture to the canvas.