Still lifes are my favorite subject matter. I can arrange the elements until I find a pleasing composition, and most importantly, things do not move around. I have a collection of objects from throughout the years and many of them find their way into my designs over and over again. While painting in my studio one day, I noticed my paintbrushes in various containers and thought “why not?” They are ordinary and overlooked, so I decided to draw some of these in a composition.

Some of my first paintbrush designs included palettes, paint tubes, old license plates and garden flowers. I strive to paint something that everyone else is not painting at the moment and focus on interesting compositions and bold colors. Most artists accumulate paintbrushes and some of mine are stuffed in an old Ball canning jar and a bright green, transparent glass vase that I am fond of. I am attracted to the abstract, fractured patterns of the brushes in the jars and the transparency of the glass.

Gesso was added to the background for texture and a soft, opaque yellow wash was added when it was dry.