Megan Elizabeth Read
Finalist
My Inspiration
This is part of a series of paintings exploring the juxtaposition of natural and unnatural elements, some timeless and others that are very much of this time, and the fleeting and the (relatively) enduring. I decided that they would be made up of the flowers of my childhood—i was somewhat obsessed with flowers, and daffodils especially—and the contents of my closet and they are a kind of comment on, and observation of, our cultural aesthetic and perception of beauty.
My Design Strategy
My initial idea and the first setups I staged were arranged so that the shoes/vessels were
My Working Process
oil, 14 x 18" oriented in a way that from afar they really appeared to be vases until you looked more closely but the arrangements evolved a bit and became more organic as I played. I very much wanted the feel of a fairly traditional chiaroscuro but with the slightly ironic and playful contemporary twist and to use only materials that were part of my daily life so I stuck to whatever was in my yard and closet at the time.
Because I work rather slowly I staged the compositions in my basement and took photos to use as a reference as I wanted the flowers to appear freshly picked. I then toned oil primed linen panels and transferred the basic drawing before moving into the painting stage. Depending on what I am working on I sometimes work on many layers but for these paintings I worked fairly directly and most of what you see was created in one rather painstakingly slow pass. On especially productive days I might complete a full flower but in general I just worked my way around the canvas slowly and methodically hoping to capture the light and subtle warms and cools.
Contact Details
Email: hello@maeread.com
Website: www.maeread.com