Seeing beauty in mundane objects

Throughout history, great artists have often produced wonderful paintings depicting the most unexpected subjects. Examples include "The slaughtered ox" by Rembrandt or the famous depictions by Van Gogh's of his simple bedroom in Arles.

Looking at some of Gene Gould's paintings, it is similarly easy to find oneself wondering: "Who would choose to paint that? Yet the resulting artworks can be amazingly good, as shown in the examples below:

Would you leave your bottle of water on the table next to the beautiful bouquet of flowers you intend to paint? Why not? It turned out great, didn't it?

"Bouquet and bottle"

oil on canvas (24" x 30")

Gene Gould, 2001

How about painting just one half of an orange? Who's to stop you? Just get the colors right!

"Half an orange"

Watercolor (11.5" x 8.5 ") 2001

Now, let's tackle something really challenging! How about... MOPS?

"Mops", acrylic on canvas (16" x 12")

The history of this painting needs to be told, because it perfectly illustrates something that Gene Gould often said: A painting is never finished as long as the artist is alive.

In 2022, Gene Gould went to visit one of his sons in California, and came back with a very old painting of his that had been there for as many as 25 or 30 years. Once back home, Gene significantly improved his old work, thereby yielding an image that is truly unique in its striking blend of beautiful colors.