Slowdown With Still Life | Cindy Cavanagh

{Valentine} Last weekend, we celebrated Valentine’s Day. I must admit, I am not a huge fan of this day. Of course, I love flowers and chocolates as much as the next person, but it always feels forced here in Australia. I don’t think we do it as well as the US, with the kids sending card to their friends at school. We have a burst of tacky teddy bears and fake flowers that grace our shelves for a couple of weeks. It is hardly inspiring, especially for a still life. I struggled this week until I reflected on the love letters and cards that I have received from my husband over the years. I thought about a time when receiving a letter was the height of romance. Usually a print of a posed portrait was included along with lines from their favourite poet. I decided to recreate this sense of nostalgia and capture the tangible of a past era. Once I made this decision, it was amazing the items that I found around the house to include, like the “Sonnets’ by Shakespeare, black and white images of my grand parents, blank cards and envelopes, plus stamps to wrote out real reason we celebrate this day.