Blair Atherholt is a painter whose approach to still life combines modern sensibilities with traditions from the “Golden Age” of 17th Dutch still life. Many of his compositions feature dark backgrounds and strong chiaroscuro in the definition of objects, as well as attention to “lost and found” edges.
He departs from those traditions in his use of textural paint application — often in a direction that helps define the form or the intensity of light against it — and his occasional choice of unconventional objects. He also sometimes casts lighting around or behind objects in a way that suggests theatrical halos of light.
He also plays with contrasts of high and low chroma passages within his paintings, forcefully drawing your eye to specific parts of the composition, but retaining a naturalistic feeling overall.
I particularly like the evocative combination of texture and dimensionality in his approach.
