books Archives | Christopher Stott

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Conversations

Almost always I work on two paintings in tandem and they have a conversation of sorts.

These two paintings illustrate this in the most obvious way. The dishevelled books in the first painting make me feel tense, scattered and hectic. The second painting is calm, organized and relaxed. States of being.

Chair & Books I / 48 x 30 inches / oil on canvas / 2020

I found this chair a few years ago at Everything Old — an amazing antique shop on Vancouver Island. It was white and obviously sat in a shed or garage for a few decades. I cleaned it up and painted it black — the simple and basic design has set a perfect contrast against the wall, the varied golden pages of the books pop out.

Chair & Books II / 48 x 30 inches / oil on canvas / 2020

Royal FP

A fresh 30 x 48-inch painting just off the easel is on the way to The George Billis Gallery in New York. It’s a sturdy Royal FP typewriter from the 1950s. You can take a closer look at it → here.

I have been working on my upcoming exhibition for the gallery’s Los Angeles location and have made major headway, so I am able to send this one to New York for clients to see.

Hello 2019

I read this book 17 years ago – long before social media. How is it possible that things might be turning out worse than the fiction of the book? Perhaps we shouldn’t think about this too deeply and just find a funny and cute YouTube video to take our minds off things.

This Penguin Books classic edition of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is the perfect subject on many levels. Not only is the theme of the book relevant, but the simple graphic design of the cover with the symmetry and balance attracts me as well.

Happy New Year! Let’s make it a good one.

Corona No.3 – On the Easel

Here’s a glimpse of a recently completed painting – a Corona No.3 typewriter. I’ve used this in the past but it needed a bit more of a grand composition so I added some pencils and books.

The Wishing Well

I’m calling this one done. Finding the point of completion is always satisfying on a painting. This one is going to hang in my house for some time while I move on to the next stack of books to paint.

This painting is available as a 12 x 12 inch print. See it in my print shop → here.

After The Sun Sets II

I made a smaller version of this painting last year and thought that it deserved another composition and a larger canvas.

After The Sun Sets II is at the George Billis Gallery in New York City.

Classic Pelican Books

An 18 x 36 inch composition of wonderfully aged Pelican Books – see the painting closer here.

These books cover a broad range of subjects – everything from art, architecture, history, philosophy, etc. Something for everyone. And even though these books come from the past, they’re still relevant.

Read What You Will

The titles read like a poem. Or at least they do if that’s what you want. It’s not intentional on my part. It’s more serendipity.

The Big Picture / 30 x 36 / oil on canvas / 2018

Text makes you look at a painting longer. If there’s something to read, you’ll spend more time. Then you begin to draw connections between the words. You let them tell you what you want.