Snefrid Sneve-Schultze, or Sissi as she is known to close friends and family, was born and raised in Bardu, Norway where she lived into her early twenties. As a young woman her interest in pursuing an art career led her to continue her art education at Minnesota State University where she received her BA. After graduation she wanted to explore different avenues of artistic expression and enrolled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and later at Massachusetts College of Art and Design where she studied fashion design.

After working as an assistant designer and pattern maker at a high fashion bridal salon on Newbury Street in Boston for several years, she moved to Cape Cod in 1993. The move served as a strong motivator for her to pursue an art career as she explains, “The beauty of the landscape and the light had me longing to express myself once again in shapes and colors.” She began her artistic journey in the rich artistic community of the Cape by attending classes at various local art centers and studying with local artists, and along the way her interest in the endless possibilities of still life painting grew. 

Choice and placement of objects and capturing how light and shadow falls upon them is the still life painter’s responsibility, and as such, artists are excited to have control of their set ups. Studying the artwork of esteemed still life masters of the past, she states, “When viewing 16th and 17th century still life renderings painted by artists such as Willem Kalf, and Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, I find their masterful use of light, textures, and color a valuable source of inspiration.” Her painting, Reflections on Orange, is a tribute...