CreatorJohn R. WalkerTitleBrush fetishDate2009MediumArchival oil on polyesterDimensionsH. 91.9cm x W. 192cmArtist StatementStill life is an autobiographical subject area for me. Most of my still life works have been of the tools and bits and pieces that accumulate in the corner of my studio; brushes, paintboxes, level rules, set squares. The other still life works that I've done have been of tools and bottles found in old sheds. These are all objects that incorporate, in their form, a kind of externalised mind. Their shapes reflect purposes and uses. Perhaps the most mysterious and intriguing are the sort of things you find in very old sheds of tools for some purpose and intention that has long been forgotten. When looking at these objects, it is hard not to think of hands and eyes and purposes that are ghosts hanging in the air.
Quite a few of my still life works have involved paintings of arrangements of brushes, partly because there are a lot of brushes in my studio, many of which have been retained out of sentimentality having long lost their usefulness or simply a pleasure in their encrusted, built up and worn out appearances. There is also a certain melancholia that comes from looking at personal things that were young once but now worn out.Accession Number072.2018Access AdviceFor research purposes only. No reproduction without permission of Yarrila Arts and Museum.
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Still-life painting of brushes, archival oil on polyester.
