Never overlook an everyday object. It can hold a plethora of challenges, delights and frustrations for any artist. Sit in your lounge and have a look around. An armchair, a lamp, a rug, a trinket, or a pet … any of the above or all of them hold a vast amount of interest.

I chose this lamp for the very same reason as I bought it: I like it! That is reason enough to paint a still life subject.

I kept this a very limited palette, chromatic black with a blue bias, and as the walls in my lounge are pink, I used a rose madder and added a little blue as I worked to create the shadows cast by the lit lamp. I used the weakest wash I could make of viridian green for the lamp and weak washes of my chromatic mix for the shadows on the glass of the lamp. I like the geometry in this subject.