Today’s Still Life Painting: Camembert, Knife, Crackers

Today’s still life painting for you:

“Camembert, Knife, Crackers”, Oil on Panel, 5×10 inches, 2009 (sold)

Nothing says DRAMA like a narrowly focused beam of bright light in a sea of darkness.  Caravaggio knew it.  Hollywood knew it during the black and white era. Retailers know it.  I’m pretty sure the latter two ultimately learned it from Caravaggio.

I get this effect using a shadow box, which I constructed myself.  Actually, one of the very first blog posts I wrote 12 years ago was about the design and construction of the box.  It’s still going strong, and it’s one of the most useful tools in my studio.

I hope you enjoy it!

-Jeffrey