Teatime STILL LIFE

Fine china and tea have been a part of my life since childhood. As a Canadian living in the United States, I’ve found I’ve become even more nostalgic for my “heritage” as I’ve aged, and painting these teacups makes me feel more in touch with my family and friends who still live in Canada.

There’s also the technical challenge of painting all of those patterns and the translucent tea that draws me in as well. For me, the process of setting up my teacups and choosing which objects and fabrics will work well with the focal point are as time consuming as the actual painting process.

For this painting, , I wanted to use an analogous palette – one that uses adjacent hues on the colour wheel. Analogous palettes have always made me feel calm and comfortable, with just a hit or two of their complementary colours to help balance the harmony. I used M Graham acrylic paints which are smooth and slightly less viscous than other high-quality