Learn to draw by Tissa Hewavitarane

Types of still life

It is possible to find inspiration for a still life anywhere. It is just a question of looking around to realise the majority of objects which surround us can be subjects of the painting. We have seen numerous still life pictures of bottles and flowers, but you do not have to draw the line here. Even the most daily objects can be used as models worthy of being painted.

Still life is traditionally the pictorial genre that generates interest. It can be practised from the moment you start with watercolours. Still life is one of the subjects which keeps the majority of painters busy. To elaborate a still life, the model has to take care and the possible composition techniques have to thought out.

The phase before painting a still life can be as simple or as complicated as the artist wishes. It is always wise to invest a certain amount of time in the preparation, especially if you do not want the still life to be a run-of-the-mill picture, but attractive for the unity of its forms and colour. To do a faithful still life it is necessary for the set-up to be correct, for it forms part of the composition. When preparing the still life, some key points have to be borne in mind, for example, the composition of the model that will be used as reference. Excellent subject matter is readily available in the classroom in the form of student models and still life set-ups, students can pose in dress-up costumes which can be colourful, or in everyday wear. They can pose single or in pairs. They can read a book or play a guitar. Objects such as a guitar improve the concentration of young artists on the model. Still life can realistically be painted or stylized. Colours, brush strokes and the simplified facial shadows are all, the personal choice of the artist. Foliage and flowers, fruits and vegetable pots, or a combination of objects will offer an adequate composition for the picture. With the necessary material spread out on a table you can begin to set-up the still life to make a balanced composition. Compared with other subjects, still life can give you a lot of compositional freedom.

You can select whatever objects you like and arrange them to suit your need.