Hamlets favourite skull, my favourite pink hat - Still Life oil painting by Rebecca Hepworth is an exploration of the physical qualities of paint and the celebration of how it can be used to shape narratives of the symbolic objects in our lives.
Placed together is my favourite hat, ironically wearing a paper-mache skull relating to the skull of the King's Jester in the “gravedigger scene” in the tragic Hamlet plot and used by Shakespeare to create some comic relief. I bought this skull to escalate a joke I share with my husband, Michael, who loves to chat.
Despite the element of macabre, this painting is about the joy of life and animating our stories with both inanimate objects and paint.
This artwork was a finalist in the City of Belmont Art Awards, 2021.
If you love this style but the size doesn't suit, I'm happy to create a similar piece in the required size.