Artist Ginny Page, who lives in Denmark, says her artwork often combines surrealistic, narrative or decorative elements to create stories—personal or otherwise—that are either sensitive and melancholic or playful and quirky. Her interests include still lifes and life-size portraits, which allows her to draw on a traditional approach.
Amy, oil on Belgian linen, 59 x 77"
“Inspiration is in abundance and the list is endless,” Page says. “I especially love to observe the natural world in all its beauty at close hand. I find great joy in watching butterflies, birds, bees and insects busy at work in my own little garden of paradise. I also collect antique glassware, hand-painted vintage porcelain, pewter and lace plus many other natural objects such as feathers, bird skeletons, insects and seashells to gather inspiration for my paintings.”
Her latest still life paintings have featured soft fruits grown in her garden—such as raspberries, blueberries, redcurrants, blackberries and Scandinavian yellow cloudberries—juxtaposed with hand-painted antique items. Among them is Summer Berries, which depicts blueberries and a ceramic bowl. “The blueberries give us good health and optimism,” Page explains. “The Staffordshire pottery bowl reminds me of England.”
Nature’s Medicine, oil on panel, 20 x 24"
Page is meticulous in her still life arrangements, explaining, “My still life paintings are all ‘born’ in a large cardboard box painted dark green on all sides and lit from a hole cut out in one side.
I spend most days with my head buried in the box arranging pretty little objects in there just like a child arranges a doll’s house—bliss! I can spend hours fiddling with insects and such. Balancing a fly or bee on a leaf with a cocktail stick or dotting tiny waterdrops on a flower so that the light just hits it perfectly!”
Summer Berries, oil on panel, 27 x 36"
For her figurative works Page often has friends and her two sons pose for her. “I have painted several underlying themes of female figure studies often painted from the back,” she adds. “The figures are often dressed in silk, lace or other complex textured fabrics and are all inspired by the great master paintings of Da Vinci, Rembrandt, John Everett Millais and many others.”
Ginny Page in her atelier in Denmark.
Among her pieces is Amy, which is from her series of resting figures that suggest warmth and safety. “Enjoying the simple and necessary pleasure of sleep and silence,” Page says. “The pearl earring appears on several of my figure paintings as an ode to the Dutch Baroque painter Vermeer.” —
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