For an upcoming solo show at George Billis Gallery, classically trained artist Pam Ackley will showcase her skills in the still life genre, after many years of studying and creating portraits. Ackley’s show will mainly consist of single-object still life scenes created in oil, featuring florals, botanicals and tableware.
Lemons and Gravy, oil on linen, 15 x 16 in.
“I might say that I have multiple personalities in my approach to creating art,” says Ackley of her process. “Sometimes I’m driven to paint in a traditionally academic style. At other times, I’m inspired to let loose without reference and create from my mind. I allow myself the freedom to let the paint create the direction of the painting.”
Many of Ackley’s still life paintings are of a single object, because she sees emotion in all things—both animate and inanimate. “Everything has personality,” she adds. “I consider my still life paintings, whether single object or with added elements, to be portraits. I use light and shadow and their nuances to describe form and create mood. It is through the mood I create that I find the emotion in my subjects.”
Rose and Olive, oil on linen, 40 x 20 in.
For eight years, Ackley studied under two master artists who greatly shaped her creativity and aesthetic. While being classically trained in the tradition of the Florence Academy of Art, with a primary focus on portraiture, she simultaneously studied still life with a former instructor of the Moscow Institute of Art, who directed her towards a more contemporary genre.
Ackley often paints from life, not relying on any other references, and many of her painting choices involve flowers and plants—inspired by her husband’s experience as a master gardener.
Show piece Lemons and Gravy, is a great example of Ackley’s classical training at work. “It is dark and dramatic with a tonalist quality, whereas pieces like Pink and Crimsonbring my work more into the contemporary genre,” the artist explains. “It is light and colorful, and its personality depicts contentment.”
Teacup, oil on canvas, 8 x 8 in.
During her training, Ackley fell in love with natural light. “It softens the form and creates drama that is lost otherwise,” she says. “On average, 95 percent of my paintings are done in natural light. The soft transitions are beyond comparison. I remember my mentor saying something that has stayed with me in every piece I create: ‘shadow should fall across the form like the breath.’”
Ackley also notes that her piece Rose and Oliveventures further into the contemporary. “I consider this painting to be completely reactionary and my roses are an abstraction,” she says. “I used complimentary colors to create vibration. My reactions to what I see while I’m painting usually takes over rather than inner direction or a close study of reality. I rely less on an analytical approach and more on movement, energy and color.”
Pink and Crimson, oil on linen, 40 x 20 in.
Ackley continues, “I’m intrigued by lost and found elements in a painting. I believe they entertain the eye more so than a vivid depiction of detail. In my more contemporary pieces, l look for ways to only include minimal information.”
View the entirety of Ackley's new work at George Billis Gallery’s Fairfield, Connecticut, location from February 21 to March 21. —
George Billis Gallery 1700 Post Road • Fairfield, CT 06824 • (203) 557-9130 • www.georgebillis.com
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