These are very similar in style to children’s illustrations. There is one major difference, however: kids here don’t smile as explicitly and are a little older. In fact, the quiet and, as you may see from the images here, intentionally serene characters are almost the opposite of the rambunctious crowds playing and interacting in the children’s illustrations. Most of the editorial and advertising images include a single human actor, presenting either a product or a concept; it is mostly girls, of indeterminate age (I tend to think of them as teenagers — but that could be the work of my fantasy), who exhibit a more focused and serious behavior. They appeal to adults among others; they demonstrate some gravitas.
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There is a purely entertaining side to browsing Cindy Revell’s website still life gallery. With each page I discovered new subjects, new variations; different angles and additional unexpected objects would alter and turn over the hierarchy inside the depicted realm. For example, a fruit that crowned a tower of several cups in one painting may lie deposed next to a jug or a pitcher in another. In other words, there is a continuous evolution of theme — or at least it is possible to see the exhibited body of work that way. Because we are permitted to witness these changes and complications, because they are visible and clearly so, the complexity of some of the more intricate compositions appears natural — and particularly rewarding.
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Cindy Revell is a Canadian painter and illustrator who has worked for several well known companies and publications and creates art in a variety of genres and trends: illustration, functional art and realist oil paintings. Most of her oil works depict still life, and only occasionally a portrait or a landscape. You will find a rich collection of digital reproductions on her website and her artist portfolio in the Candle Art Gallery. I would recommend reading the oil painting process section of her website as well as her blog for some textual inspiration and more visual works as well. Her art listing at Painter’s Keys website is another great resource. Cindy Revell may boast a strong online presence — something I believe every artist should aspire to.
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The discrepancy between dark palette and light mood creates an effect of surprise and subsequently suspense. In these greyhound paintings this stylistic feature (of mood and color counterpoise) finds a more comic than ironic expression. Indeed sometime I get the feeling the artist fully enjoyed and indulged herself painting these subjects — so unstrained looks her technique. The purpose here is to entertain — but the painter doesn’t limit herself to portrayals — she creates allusions and personifications, through visual means (the halos) or textual (the titles, which suggest human activity), stirring the viewer’s imagination. Perhaps the quiet temperament of the breed requires a more keen action from the owner, or the artistic “owner” of the subject, meaning the painter, of course.
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This series enthrall me for what seems like an intentional obstruction and defocussing. Some of the grand pianos appear to float on a floor of haze, others are about to sink in waves of light. Either way, air and light, made conspicuously visible, act as a kind of a plate that presents the main dish, the musical instrument itself. And that basically means, to mix the metaphors, that the music is intended to be consumed with the atmosphere. Furthermore, by contrasting hard surfaces (such as the black lid) with volatile substances, the artist intensifies the illusion of space, and of a three dimensional setting in general. The paintings shroud the audience in a cloud of mist; rhythm — or painterly music — keeps the viewers occupied in the process.
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