To say artist Eric Wert paints still lifes* is way understating it. Does he paint flowers in vases and fruit and vegetables? Yes. But when Wert paints them, they become so much more. He starts with a grisaille, a black-and-white underpainting favored by Renaissance painters, which he says helps makes the process more labor intensive but also makes later stages much less stressful. The underlayer also helps him plan his more complex paintings, and ultimately, makes his colors more luminous. After his grisaille has thoroughly dried, he adds a layer of transparent pigments to identify the color of each object. This stage helps the colors in his finished works to glow. His final stage is application of the final layer, when he thinks about surface texture and the finer details.
*Yes, still lifes is correct. I checked.

As fascinating as his treatment of his subjects is, I think I’m equally fascinated by his complex backgrounds. The wallcoverings and the surfaces on which his subjects rest are every bit as intriguing. What amazing attention to detail!

You can follow Eric Wert on his website and on Instagram and Facebook.