carolyn's group

.                              14x20

A few years ago I met some people at an art studio and they invited me to join their still life group, which met weekly in an artist named Carolyn's basement. The basement was lined with shelves stuffed with things to put in still lifes. 

It was a great group in a lot of ways--the painters were all pretty ambitious, accomplished, and serious, and were wonderful critiquers; whenever I got stuck, one of them knew the answer. I painted these in that group and I don't think I would have ever done such crowded still lifes without their encouragement.

Before I'd been in the group a year, though, Carolyn passed away and, despite our intentions, the group broke apart.

Carolyn's children very kindly asked us all over one day and invited us to take a few things from her shelves, as a remembrance.

I took the blue vase on the left and the white vase on the right in the top painting, and the remnants below, which I still love.