SETTING UP A STILL LIFE
‘Mandarins with blue bottles and mugs’
Still life is like a symphony, each one a new composition by the artist.
There is an art to arranging a still life study to paint. You must take into account composition, tonal relationships, and relationships between objects. The work must come together as a whole.
Take time to look at the beautifully composed Still life work of Chardin. You will notice the tonal values, the simplicity of subject matter, and the mood of the work. Each one is calm and peaceful and is a joy to look at. The objects are almost always placed on a table with a piece of cloth or a knife just breaking the straight line of the table. This is an important piece of arrangement in still life painting used by many other artists. Cezanne painted lively bright still life’s but took hours to set them up.
Compare the two artists. They both use the same rules on composition etc.
Margaret Olley’s still life works are a joy but not as brightly or simply painted as Cezanne. Margaret Preston’s oils of still life are like her prints-very strong and simply designed. But don’t take my word for all this- have a look yourself.
A lot can be said about what you are going to paint by the way you arrange related objects together, the way you describe them in paint and the feeling you are trying to promote. The paint can be thick and painterly like Van Gough’s work; flat shapes with outlines or a combination of all that.
To exaggerate the values of tone in your still life’s set up a light source next to the work, lighting it from one side. Unfortunately in a class situation this is impossible, but you can do it at home. Margaret Olley painted her beautiful still life in natural light in her house so there is nothing wrong with doing that either.
Instead of having the objects sitting flat on the surface of a table, you can put something under some of them to tilt or raise the object to make it more interesting- Cezanne did this. Gather folds of material and make lines in folds to add interesting lines to your composition. Similarly if you are adding drapes behind, don’t just hang them straight. A lot can be done with stripes and patterns in fabric between folds.
Still life definitely is not boring! Take time to compose it. It can be a symphony of colour or a blur of soft tones. Look at the various techniques used by other artists and create your own way of expressing the objects.
Most of all enjoy it.