Bethany Saab
Canberra-based emerging artist Bethany Saab uses still life painting to capture intimate glimpses of the colour and joy in the everyday objects of domestic life.
Words: Georgie Ward | Photography: Claire Williams
‘I don’t want to paint realistically, so it's more about the feeling of the painting,’ says Bethany Saab. Photo: Claire Williams
Bethany Saab paints with a soft and subdued colour palette of acrylic pastels. Photo: Claire Williams
Bethany Saab landed her passion in early 2020, when she stumbled across still life painting. ‘There is something intimate and micro about the still life genre that just works for me. Since I started painting still life, I am constantly seeing things I want to paint as I’m going about my day,’ she says.
Her paintings often consist of scattered, ripe fruits and everyday objects upon beautifully patterned table tops. They celebrate the beauty in the mundane moments of everyday life, which she captures with colour and vivacity, whilst harnessing a feeling of softness and playfulness.
Bethany has always been surrounded by creativity and inspiration. Growing up in Alice Springs in the 80s and 90s, she lived with her parents who worked as artists and art teachers, in a home heavily adorned with Aboriginal artwork. She had a very vibrant, creative community that surrounded her during her childhood, and speaks of how her and her sisters engaged in many creative activities as kids.
Bethany splits her time between her job as a psychologist, a mum of young kids, and her artistic practice. Working heavily with acrylic medium means she can juggle her busy lifestyle, as it allows her to work easily in layers as the acrylic dries quickly, painting in short bursts at a time.
‘Lots of the items in my paintings are just familiar things that I have in my everyday domestic life,’ says Bethany Saab. Photo: Claire Williams
Persimonns ll 2021 by Bethany Saab. Photo: Claire Williams
“My paintings are about mindfulness – engaging with the present moment and gratitude for simple things.”
‘My paintings are about the beauty in the mundane moments of everyday life,’ says Bethany Saab. Photo: Claire Williams
Bethany’s work utilise a subdued colour palette with lots of soft, delicate pastels. ‘I like the fresh, clean look and feel of these. My choice of colour is hard to explain, it's intuitive. I just choose what feels right,’ she says. She prefers to paint from real-life, as opposed to photos, as the colour is much more vibrant and the light refractions change as she paints. She mimics these scenes in her rough yet refined painting style, creating animated and dynamic works that feel full of life.
Her painting practice brings her joy as she feels it strengthens her connection to her mother, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2016. Bethany and her mum shared similar passions - her mother had a great interest for gardening and Bethany was a self-taught florist for many years before she discovered still life painting. The pair also both fostered a love for painting, ‘when I paint, I feel close to her.’
Bethany’s work will feature in an upcoming group show at Grainger Gallery in Canberra and also in a solo exhibition titled Light and Lucency, at the Michael Reid Murrurundi gallery in late March. She invites all her art-admirers to come and take a visit, ‘I think these shows will satisfy those who know and love my previous work, as they are in the same vein, but I feel these are more refined and resolved’.
Bethany Saab in her Canberra home studio. Photo: Claire Williams
Sketches of still life objects and pages of an art notebook taped to the walls of Bethany Saab's home. Photo: Claire Williams