By Christopher

Christopher Stott is a contemporary realist painter.

Three Lanterns

24 x 36 / oil on canvas
24 x 36 / oil on canvas

It is important that a painting have more to it than just a cold representation of the subject.

Three Lanterns. The triad, the most noble number according to Pythagoras.

Lanterns are symbols of guidance and enlightenment. They are beacons. Composed here, there is a suggestion of three figures – two of them almost protecting the smaller lantern in the middle. Like parents, guardians or teachers passing on a tradition of knowledge.

Beginning, middle, end.

I have always been aware that the subjects in my paintings have a built-in narrative because of their age and what they were used for. Here the idea of a story arch is built in with the significance of three. It can be any story you can imagine.

Past, present, future.

That story idea continues along with the three tenses, the three states we choose to live in. Dwelling on the past, gleefully enjoying the present, or anxious about the future. I am defiantly at fault for focusing too much on the future.

And then there is the significance of three in religion. You can find it in Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and even in mythology long before these world religions.

The significance of three rings true in so many different ways, on so many levels.

Three Lanterns at Elliott Fouts Gallery / Photo: Michelle Satterlee
Three Lanterns at Elliott Fouts Gallery / Photo: Michelle Satterlee

 

Crafted Kodaks

Two Antique Kodaks oil Painting by Christopher Stott
12 x 24 / oil on canvas

These elegant and finely detailed antique Kodak cameras are works of art on their own. They have a patina about them. Cameras are now and always have been ubiquitous – but some were made to stand out. These cameras have lost their function, but now exist as sculpture and ideals of craftsmanship.

These two paintings are part of my July 2015 exhibition at the Elliott Fouts Gallery.

Antique Kodak Oil Painting by Christopher Stott
16 x 16 / oil on canvas
Antique Kodak oil painting by Christopher Stott

Vintage Film Projectors

30 x 30 / oil on canvas
30 x 30 / oil on canvas

These projectors have been missing from my repertoire for too long.

Projector I, above, is the first film projector I painted. Found at Everything Old Canada.

Perfect profile for painting. Everything about them slots in precisely in to what I like in a subject for painting. Obsolete technology with a fantastic design. The reels are dramatic and circular, they compliment the square canvas. I find them eye catching.

30 x 30 / oil on canvas
30 x 30 / oil on canvas

Projector II was with me for several years. It was in a case, and I simply forgot about it as I didn’t have any reels to go along with it. It blended in amongst all the other typewriter cases and luggage I have sitting around.

During one of our recent moves, I picked up the case and was confused at why it weighed so much. Opened up the case and was so delighted to find it.

Color

Sometimes it would seem my paintings are kind of devoid of color, mostly very subdued or even simply black objects on simple white grounds. So I decided to swing the pendulum entirely the other way.

The Relationship Between Blue & Green Oil Painting by Christopher Stott
22 x 28 / oil on canvas

Above we have The Relationship Between Blue and Green. Turquoise. I used all the blues and greens on the palette.

I found myself a fantastic antique and vintage dealership near my new home. They were helpful in entertaining the idea of going through their shop looking for objects of certain colors. A birdhouse, an old clothes iron, a jewellery box, vintage luggage, an enamel cup, and a little alarm clock.

Red Lantern, Tonka Truck, Vintage Gas Can Oil Painting by Christopher Stott
18 x 36 / oil on canvas

Amber and Andrew at Everything Old are so friendly, so generous and helpful. For the Red painting they helped me find an old traffic warning lantern, a Tonka cement truck and a gasoline can. Makes for a bold, bright vehicle theme.

Blue Objects Oil Painting by Christopher Stott
18 x 36 / oil on canvas

The Blue painting has an enamel coffee pot, tea pot, cup and flashlight. I thought it was interesting the way the paintings each ended up with a theme of sorts, beyond the color focus.

All The Hours in a Day

Oil Painting All The Hours in a Day by Christopher Stott

Twenty four vintage alarm clocks depicting all the hours in a day.

This painting has already sold, but there are affordable prints available. The folks at the Elliott Fouts Gallery will answer any questions you have and they ship worldwide.

For years — and I mean years — I have talked about my paintings being about the narrative of the vintage objects I paint.

I’m not so sure that’s it. Or at least, that’s not all they are about. I see the paintings really being about three things. 1) Technique 2) Minimalism 3) Subject

The technique I use, the slow layering of paint, the close attention to detail, it’s such a huge part of the work. I spend a great deal of time looking at realist painting, historic painting and new paintings being made right now. What I see in the technique is a connection to hundreds of years of art making, a connection to hundreds of years of artists.

My compositions are all straight forward and simple. They are minimalist. A philosophy that I strive to apply in all parts of life. When I’m not looking up art on the web, I’m looking up blogs and books about minimalism. In painting, I can quit literally design compositions that depict minimalist philosophy.

And right on top of that minimal composition, the subject sits with its own ideas. Vintage alarm clocks, for example, are all about time. They also have colours and shapes — numerous circles and ellipses, the hands pointing in all directions.