Arena Shawn

Dust and Devine

10 x 8 x 1”, framed to 13 x 11 x 1”

Oil on Ampersand Museum Panel

$525

Chiaroscuro still life of antique pewter teapot with cut peach.

Artist's Statement:

In her pursuit of art, Arena tries to use charcoal, pencil, brush and paints to reflect the quiet lights, subtle colors and playful shapes exhibited by seemingly mundane, everyday subjects. Striving for the emotional quality of every piece she creates, Arena hopes that her work would be able to reach out and connect with their viewers, evoking the sense of wonder and awe of our everyday life that are so often taken as granted.

Her primary working method in drawing involves direct observation from life using traditional sight-size method and aims at achieving a strong impression of light and its cascading effect down the human figure or a particular still-life setup, while in the same time paying special attention to create strong and unified value patterns, specific organic half-tone shapes and incrementally softened edge quality from the center of focus outwards throughout the drawing.

Her still life arrangements are set up in her north light studio and painted directly from life. She paints directly so that her relationship to the subject is heightened in the moment in order to pass on that perception and experience to the viewer resulting in a painting that looks like a painting and not a photograph. Arena chooses objects and arrangements to create the most aesthetically beautiful design and a feeling of abundance and intimacy. These arrangements are influenced by centuries of traditional still life painting from the Dutch Masters of the 1600s to French Academics of the 1900s. From there, she strives to create paintings combining an old master feel with rich color and painterly brushstrokes.