Essential Guide to Drawing: Still Life

Barrington Barber

• Publisher: Arcturus
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781848588080
• eBook ISBN: 9781839405006
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art Techniques

Ready-to-hand, varied and versatile, still-life subjects are ideal drawing material. This handy guide provides an accessible introduction to the genre, from drawing single objects such as vases and fruit, to more complex themed compositions. Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced draughtsman, the clear demonstrations and step-by-step exercises in these pages will teach you to create realistic, attractive still-life drawings. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Essential Guides to Drawing are practical books for artists who wish to improve their skills in a particular subject area. The series covers Animals, Landscapes, Perspective & Composition, Portraits, Still Life and Landscapes.

A Still-life Project

The drawings on these pages show how you might go about selecting a still-life subject. Remember to take some time to work out your ideas before you choose a composition and progress through the stages to a finished piece of work.

Choosing your subject

The first step is to look around your home and contemplate the different possibilities. I began by walking out into the garden near my studio and, seeing an old watering can, I just started drawing it. It didn’t at this stage suggest a composition to me, but it was a good start to the search for objects for the still life.

Back inside my studio, I considered the easel in one corner with a box-easel behind it and a rucksack full of painting kit propped up against it. This made an interesting subject, but it was not quite varied enough for my taste.

When I walked into my house I noticed a group of family photographs, some pots and a candlestick on top of a bookshelf. This was a more careful arrangement but not quite what I was after.

I then started collecting objects together that I thought might make a good group. From the kitchen I took a pestle and mortar, and from the top of the dresser a large jug.

Preliminary Drawings

Thinking about a kitchen theme, I took some apples and oranges and laid them out in a way that I thought I could use. The theme seemed to be developing.

Next, to keep the idea going, I drew a large saucepan and then a couple of wine glasses. All this preparation is very useful for working up a good still-life composition. It may take you several days, but it’s worth it when you are drawing a major piece of work.

After that I added a bowl and, to bring in food again, a box of eggs from the fridge. My kitchen still life seemed to be falling into place.

I then put a napkin on the tabletop to add a different texture to the scene.

Choosing a Composition

The next stage was to choose my composition pieces and try them out. I roughly scribbled out an arrangement of some of the objects I’d gathered.

Then I tried a much simpler one, but wasn’t altogether convinced that it was interesting enough.

So I tried another arrangement but still felt it was not what I really wanted. This scribbling up of various compositions is never a waste of time, because it helps to clarify what you are really after.

Finally I got something that started to look like the composition I wanted. All this preparatory work can be done long before you start to draw, but you do have to ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Introduction
• Materials
• Simple Marks
• Shading practice
• Basic Drawing of Single Objects
• Working Up a Simple Object
• Tone On an Object
• Tonal Drawing practice
• Concentrating On One Thing
• Larger Shapes
• Materiality
• Simple Still Lifes
• Accidental and composed Arrangements
• Ephemeral Still Lifes
• Negative Shapes
• Master Examples
• A Still-life project
• Copyright