Red Jug 1968

Mary Fedden made this still life, Red Jug, with oil on canvas, sometime during her career. Just look at how she’s built up the scene with these simple shapes and a limited color palette of reds, greens, and creamy whites. You can tell she's really thinking about the painting as a process, each brushstroke building towards the final composition. If you get up close, you can almost feel the texture of the paint. It's not about hiding the process, but really celebrating the physicality of it. Take that red jug, for example. It's not just a flat color; it's built up of different tones. The way Fedden has used the impasto effect to make a single, almost cartoonish leaf sit atop the jug, is particularly great. You can see this approach in the work of someone like Lois Dodd, who also has this way of making paint look really alive. Fedden’s work isn't trying to give you all the answers, but invites you to join in the visual conversation.