Still life in combination with landscape is the subject which currently holds my fascination. Although unlikely partners, the possibilities are endless for a marriage within the pictoral space of my canvas. I manipulate illusion to create a unique situation which exists within each painting. Choices of objects are made based upon color, shape, tone and texture as well as for their prodigious or symbolic characteristics. Illusion aside, I also work to maintain the integrity of the brushstroke so that the spirit of "painting" is always felt by the viewer.

There are many historical and contemporary influences in my work. Two of these are Dutch still life painting and Trompe L'oeil or that which fools the eye. My work has often been referred to as surreal but I prefer to think of it as metaphysical, a place just beyond reality.

Denise Ryan