Oil paintings by Abbey Ryan

New Video - October '09 Paintings

Still Life with Apples and Tea Bowl

5 x 7 in., oil on masonite panel
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"Paintings of Handmade Pottery" Project

View paintings from my "Paintings of Handmade Pottery" project here.

This painting continues the handmade pottery project I started with ceramicist Jury Smith back in January 2008 to create a dialogue between my paintings and handmade functional objects made by living, practicing potters. I recently painted one of Sequoia Miller's bottles (here, here, and here), and this cup is another piece by Jury Smith. I think this project is exciting and compelling on many levels. In the meantime, I am excited because I drew up some sketches and commissioned Jury to make me some bottle forms. In a small way, I hope to pay homage to Morandi.

I've also decided that within this pottery project, I will donate a portion of each painting's sale to the organization, Potters for Peace.

View paintings from my "Paintings of Handmade Pottery" project here.

Still Life with Cup and Sun Gold Tomatoes, oil on linen on panel, 6 x 8 in., 2009

Pomegranate in Early Morning Light

6 x 6 in., oil on masonite panel
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Homegrown Eggplant in Early Morning Light

5 x 6 in., oil on linen on panel
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Still Life with Fig and Tenmoku Bottle

8 x 6 in., oil on linen on panel
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I've painted this bottle a couple of times recently, and this is the first painting that shows the entire bottle. It's a handmade bottle with tenmoku glaze made by an amazing West coast artist, Sequoia Miller. Sequoia had an exhibition this past summer here in Philadelphia at the Works Gallery, and I was lucky enough to acquire two of his bottles. Please take a moment to check out Sequoia's work -- it's captivating. Sequoia told me by email that it's rare for him to make a "round" bottle (usually his are angular), so I feel fortunate to have this and one other bottle (that I have not painted yet). I am very interested in the dynamic of working with living ceramic artists, painting their functional (and non-functional) pottery. As I painted this, I thought to myself, "Morandi would have loved Sequoia's work."

Calm Seascape

4 x 6 in., oil on linen on panel
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Horseshoe

8 x 6 in., oil on linen on panel
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This past May, I visited my family in Chile. It was an amazing trip, and we loved the fact that in Chile, you can see the mountains, the desert, and the ocean all within two hours of each other. It's such a beautiful country. On one of our outings, we went hiking in San Jose de Maipo at Cascadas de las Animos. Along the way, I found this horseshoe. I carried it with me back to Philadelphia, and now it sits above my doorway in my studio.