Lesson 6: Setting up a Still Life

with Anita Hampton

Painting still lifes is an age-old artistic practice that is great for studying composition and light. Like a landscape, a still life composition should have a visual path that leads your eye in and around the painting as well as a distinct center of interest. However, unlike a landscape, you’re in control of choosing the objects in the scene and the type and direction of the light source. When setting up a still life, experiment with lighting, as this can make all the difference in whether a scene is lively and dynamic or flat and dull. Moreover, to add interest and variation to your still lifes, choose objects of different shapes, colors, and textures. For example, in this still life, artist ...

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