Still Life Show

Realist Still Life Paintings from the Ryder Studio


Celeste Ryder, "Still Life With Love", Oil on canvas, 7” x 6”

Kakawa Chocolate House, 1050 Paseo de Peralta
Opening Friday, December 4th 5:30-7:30 PM , Show ends January 13th

Stop on by for chocolate and fine art, or check out our virtual gallery on the Ryder Studio facebook page.


Mercia Moseley, "Siren", 10" x 10", oil on linen

Artists’ Statement

In a world that moves as insistently as ours, still life is like a rest in musical notation, opening up silence and room to breath while participating fully in the rhythm and flow of the composition. The term “still life” binds together two complementary ideas: life (vital, quick, moving) and still (static, quiet, persisting). It is a stillness that comprehends dynamism.

In French and Spanish, still life is called “dead nature” (nature morte, naturaleza muerta). The English term, with its emphasis on life, provides a curious contrast with its romance language analogs. At the Ryder Studio, we work from life (i.e. not from photographs) meaning that our work is a meditation on the presence of the objects in our compositions. By working from life, we hope to draw vitality into our work, bringing a fresh perspective and depth of consideration to simple objects. In this way, we direct our attention to the profundity of the everyday: the movement of a rose, the delicacy of a postage stamp, and the enigmatic translucency of a pearl.

We hope you enjoy our work, and that our still life speaks to you of both tranquility and vitality.

The Members of the Ryder Studio School