Merrily Johnstone

Fast Food Pastorale

Oil on Panel

11 x 14", Framed 17.5 x 20.5"

$1745

I wanted to present a modern burger and fries in a dramatically lit composition, reminiscent of Baroque still-life paintings in landscape settings.

Artist Statement:

For me, the language of painting has always been a means to explore and document the underlying layers of my visual experience. The way light and shadows fall over objects, describing their forms, teasing emotion. Lines that signify shapes while simultaneously creating the abstract pattern of the composition. The lyrical shorthand of marks, magically suggesting texture and detail. Color against color, tone upon tone. All comprise the vocabulary used to record the timeless moment of observation, my message to the viewer.

This fascination with painting as communication is rooted in childhood travels while living in Europe with my military family. My earliest memories include visiting palaces and art museums, where I was deeply affected by the historic portraits and figurative masterpieces. As I gazed up at them, the faces portrayed there spoke to me in a silent mysterious language, reaching across generations and cultural boundaries. At such a young age, these paintings showed me the world in an instant, in a language that I understood.

Today, years of exploration have led me from Renaissance and Baroque through Post-Modernism. Regardless of literal subject matter, my well of enduring  inspiration is usually found in the technical achievements of history's great masters.