Today I introduce you to the American artist, Blair Atherholt. He works in the genre of realistic oil painting, specializing in still lifes, drawing inspiration from the canvases and techniques of the old masters. His paintings are highly distinctive and memorable, almost glowing from within. Yet, it’s just oil paint, which can often appear quite dull if used carelessly.
His works provide a fascinating study of how to achieve this glowing effect. Atherholt plays with contrasts between low and high color saturation, guiding the viewer’s eye to specific parts of the composition while maintaining the natural feel of the whole—a technique reminiscent of Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro. He also expertly employs “lost edges,” creating a soft, blurred effect that encourages the viewer to focus on key elements rather than on every object at once. This gives his work a lively, dynamic quality, despite its static subject matter.
Occasionally, he’s commissioned to paint cats and dogs, but even those end up looking like still lifes!
You can find similar posts grouped under the tag #artrauflikes, and all 113 can be viewed at beinginamerica.com in the “Art Rauf Likes” section (unlike Facebook, which forgets— or neglects—nearly half of them).
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 