Painting Still Lifes

So you want to be known as a painter of still life? Still life painting gives you, the artist an opportunity to render spirituality or poetry to seemingly mundane objects. Though the final creation seemed less intricate than portraits or landscapes, the process of composing a still life involves manifold preparations and specific requirements.

One of the specific requirements is the light source. It should be steady and the artist is allowed to use artificial lights and reflectors. A window that faces north is good rather than one that faces east. The reason for this is quite obvious. The rapid change of the suns position affects the lighting and after awhile, the you will lose the first image that you sought in the first place.

Another thing to prepare is the composition of the subject. You must be sure that it is how you want the objects to be arranged. You may draw several preliminary sketches using different compositions and carefully study each of them.