AN INTRODUCTION TO STILL-LIFE PAINTING

Still-life painting is a complete and fascinating subject in itself, but it is also an excellent exercise for the inexpe­rienced student preparatory to painting outdoors.

Many of the problems that arise when painting land­scapes can be solved by still-life practice. Along with im­proving your knowledge of drawing, you learn the mixing and handling of your paint and brushes. Every type of texture can be studied by a careful selection of the objects to be painted. Silk, with its hard, shining lights, and the heavy, dull, absorbent quality of velvet can be observed as they form the draped background of your subject. Common kitchen objects contain a wealth of shapes and textures to be captured on canvas. Flowers, fruit, and vege­tables abound with both obvious and subtle color. Books, lamps, furniture—everything found in your home can be incorporated into pleasing subjects.

You can create your own compositions, lighting effects, and arrangements of color. The important thing is that all these vital ingredients of successful painting can be studied and solved leisurely. Then, when you paint out­doors and the effects are fleeting, you will be better pre­pared to cope with them, having had some technical expe­rience. Many students find still-life painting dull, probably because they resent the discipline entailed and are unable to sustain their interest. To counteract such boredom, study the masters, both old and modern, and notice how many of their most important works are of still lifes. Look at masterpieces of portraiture in which still-life accessories are employed, and see how important they are to the painting.

In his eagerness to paint the objects in his still-life ar­rangements, the student very frequently neglects the back­ground. Just as long as the background fits into the color scheme he is content. Actually, the background is just as vital to the success of the painting as the objects being portrayed.

Since drapery affords the most variety and its arrange­ment as well as its color can be controlled by the painter, some time should be spent in studying it as background material.

Place a few tacks in the upper edge of a piece of mate­rial and let it hang freely, assuming its own folds. Notice where the folds are straight and others are V-shaped. Ex­periment with various types of material, learning how soft heavy cloth hangs in contrast to stiff, shiny material. Try various arrangements of light objects against dark drapery and reverse combinations.

COMPOSITIONAL NOTES PREPARATORY TO PAINTING A STILL LIFE

Various compositions of the still-life subject should al­ways precede the actual painting. They can be made with charcoal applied lightly to the canvas, and can be changed by merely dusting the charcoal lines with a rag or a chamois. The disadvantage of working directly on the canvas, however, is that the composition is lost when changes are made or a fresh one is started. Instead, you can set up your still life in several arrangements and make a rough pencil or charcoal composition of each in your sketchbook. They can be made smaller, but proportional to your canvas. Then select the arrangement you think is the most interesting and redraw it on the canvas.

STILL-LIFE DEMONSTRATIONS A Still-Life Study in Oil

In this demonstration of a flower study, the preliminary toning of the values is omitted. Instead, we go directly into color as soon as the composition is indicated with a rough outline of thin French Ultramarine.

The approximate colors are painted directly on the can­vas. Do not attempt to hold your color tightly within the boundaries of the drawn out­line. Paint freely, concen­trating only on the colors.

After some pencil notes are made of various compositions, the most pleasing is placed on the canvas.

The completed study is shown above. Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red Light and a touch of Cobalt Blue are used for the flowers. The leaves are Thalo Green and Cobalt Blue with touches of Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna. The vase is painted with grays produced with mixtures of Cobalt Blue, and small amounts of Alizarin Crimson, Yellow Ochre, and Ivory Black. The table is Cadmium Yellow Light end Yellow Ochre, with accents of the latter and Burnt Sienna. A mixture of Cobalt Blue, Yellow Ochre, and Alizarin Crimson is used for the tablecloth and the background, with the Alizarin Crimson dominating the latter. The white drape shadows are Cobalt Blue with a touch of Alizarin Crimson.

A Still Life with Wafer Color

Painting a still life with water color requires a more di­rect handling of the color than painting one with oil. Preliminary washes of color can be applied, but subse­quent washes should be made in a direct, crisp manner. Any fumbling will give the painting a muddy or over­worked look. Always mix more color than you think you will use. This will insure more freedom when handling color washes.

A pencil drawing is made with the highlights indicated.

Washes of the approx­imate colors are applied over the objects.

THE THREE PRINCIPAL STEPS IN PAINTING A STILL LIFE IN OIL

Step 2. With the same color used for the outline, the arrangement of light and shade is indicated. The paint should be as thin as possible for this.

Step I. A drawing of the subject is made. It is strengthened by painting the outline with French Ultramarine, Yellow Ochre, or any fairly fast-drying color that is har­monious with the subject.

Step 3. The shaded areas are painted in their approximate colors, then the light areas follow. With the entire canvas covered, the relationship of light and dark areas is checked. The details are then added to com­plete the painting.

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