“I love this colourful little Chinese bowl and I’ve been wanting to paint it for some time".

In Parsley and Paprika, Stewart Lees focuses on the visual relationships between colour, texture, light and form within a simple still life arrangement. The vivid warmth of the paprika contrasts with the cool turquoise bowl, while the parsley introduces a fresh organic element to the composition. Lees’ paintings are rooted in realism, though his interest lies less in photographic precision and more in careful observation and perception. The powdery texture of the spice, the reflective surface of the silver spoon and the intricate glaze and decoration of the ceramic bowl are all rendered with close attention and restraint. Working slowly and methodically, Lees uses ordinary objects to explore balance, surface and atmosphere, allowing familiar domestic items to become the focus of sustained looking.