Reverie Rustique (2023)

Rêverie Rustique was one of my first explorations into still life — an exercise in atmosphere and tonal restraint. The piece depicts a humble arrangement of tomatoes, garlic, and a darkened pitcher resting upon white cloth, rendered with soft, diffuse light. Though the composition draws from classical painting traditions, it also hints at something quieter and more introspective — a meditation on presence and memory within the ordinary.

This work became an early experiment in balance: the cool neutrality of the background against the warmth of the fruit, the heaviness of metal against the fragility of fabric. I was particularly interested in how still life can evoke emotion without narrative — how the subtle fall of light across familiar forms can suggest both comfort and solitude.

There’s an almost cinematic stillness to Rêverie Rustique, as though the objects exist in suspension, caught between use and remembrance. It’s less a study of arrangement than of atmosphere — a rehearsal in seeing, and in learning to find reverence within the quiet spaces of the everyday.

Painted digitally in layered oil technique, the work uses a deliberately subdued palette of muted greens, reds, and greys. The interplay between textured brushwork and controlled glazing lends a tactile realism while maintaining painterly softness. Light was treated as a compositional anchor — falling diagonally to emphasise volume and evoke late afternoon illumination. The slightly desaturated tones and painterly edges suggest age and familiarity, echoing the rustic sensibility behind the title.