Vihara Padayachee

Willetton Senior High School

Year 11

Oil on Canvas

50 × 40cm

In my oil painting Teenage Still Life, I have juxtaposed personal objects that could be considered feminine or masculine, unifying them with the pinkish glow cast by the lamp. The close proximity to the viewer is my way of expressing duality between masculine and feminine. I went for a realistic approach, attempting to recreate exactly what I saw in my reference photo, carefully blending and applying oil paint in a range of tones, colours and opacities. I aim for my work to be relatable to other young people through the selection of everyday, somewhat mundane objects. I aimed to create a dream-like nostalgic sensation of times past when life felt brighter and the pressure to conform, non-existent.