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Overview
"At the core of my paintings is the search for a precision of focus on the formal properties of objects that have an everyday, almost unremarkable presence in our lives. This results in a familiar and nostalgic content, and for me a more intimate relationship with their representation"
Yorkshire-based artist Paul Stone became a full-time painter in 2008, bringing to his practice a first-class degree in History of Art and a Master’s in Contemporary Fine Art Practice from Sheffield. Working from South Yorkshire, he has developed a sustained and focused body of work, each year building upon an established foundation.
Stone specialises in still life painting, drawing on the familiar objects of daily life and presenting them with a distinctly contemporary clarity. Working in oils within a framework of classical realism, he employs controlled light and shadow to articulate surface, texture and spatial presence. His compositions frequently combine fruit and vegetables with carefully selected found objects, lending renewed attention to the ordinary. Plain, often neutral backgrounds serve to isolate these arrangements, directing the viewer’s attention towards form and placement. Composition remains central, informed by an engagement with Spanish and Dutch still life painting of the eighteenth century, alongside later artists such as William Nicholson.
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Works
Paul Stone
Sugar Plums BowlOil on Canvas30 x 40 cms / 11¾ x 15¾ inchesSigned 'STONE' (lower right)Description
Sugar Plums Bowl depicts a low, reflective pewter vessel set centrally on a rough wooden ledge, flanked by small groupings of dark plums. The composition is balanced and contained, with the objects arranged in shallow space against a warm, oxidised red ground. Strong, directional light defines the curvature of the bowl and picks up the bloom on the fruit, contrasting the cool, metallic surface with the soft, matte skins of the plums. Subtle shifts in tone articulate weight and volume, while the restrained palette and controlled handling emphasise surface, reflection and material contrast. In keeping with the still life tradition, Sugar Plums Bowl focuses on close observation, but its economy of means and compressed space give it a distinctly contemporary clarity.
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