Still Life

A still life is a work of art depicting inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, or shells) or man- made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and s o on). What is a still Life?

Contrast: placing dark tones next to light tones to help the lights pop out. This creates a greater sense of depth and volume. Composition: The overall placement, organization, and interrelationships of elements in a work of art. Contour Lines: Drawing that represents the edges and ridges of a form, without tonal variation. Negative Space: Shapes of spaced that are or represent the areas unoccupied by objects. Activation: where an image or lines go out of the picture frame Light source: an identifiable and consistent stream of light that falls across a still life, portrait, or landscape, casting shadows and creating highlights. Overlapping: objects drawn in front and behind others to create a sense of depth Vocabulary you will need to know

I can crop into a still life to create a dynamic composition that is balanced and has (at least) three sides activated. I can describe how a light source affects objects and the background of a still life I can use contrast and a full range of values to create depth I can use shading techniques to create contrast and a sense of volume I can discuss an art piece using appropriate art vocabulary I can use value, light, atmosphere and colour to create mood and to illustrate the proximity of objects I can statements:

Artist’s have been studying still lives for (literally) thousands of years. Still life's are a great way for artists to practice basic drawing skills such as shape, proportion, dimension, value, colours, etc. Glass bowl of fruit and vases. Roman wall painting in Pompeii from around 70 AD

There are many different styles of still life's

Van Gogh

Picasso

Baraque

Negative Space You may focus on different details

Negative Space

Contour Study

Tonal Study

Vincent Van Gogh

Henre Matisse

Salvador Dali

Georgia O’Keefe

3 sides of your paper activated At least 3 different items drawn Use of overlap in the still life A light source that is identifiable and consistent Transitions between light, medium, and dark tones. Minimum Requirements Art 10 ( conté)

Minimum Requirements Art 20 ( Oil Pastels) 3 sides of your paper activated At least 4 different items drawn Use of overlap in the still life A light source that is identifiable and consistent Transitions between light, medium, and dark tones in your colours.

Art 30: 3 sides of your paper activated At least 5 different items drawn Use of overlap in the still life A light source that is identifiable and consistent Transitions between light, medium, and dark tones. Minimum Requirements Art 30 (watercolour and chalk pastels)

Getting started: Draw an L shape of approx. 6 cm deep, on each piece of card, and cut them out, see example below Making a moveable viewfinder Place one L shape over the other to create a window of any size and shape. See example below Making a Viewfinder:

After you figure out which composition you chose to do, find the size of paper you need, and crop the paper for your composition. Choose where you want to sit for your favorite composition. Each view is a little different. Using a viewfinder, draw three compositional sketches in your sketchbook. Once you are done, talk to me about which composition you chose to draw. Now It’s your turn

Dominant Eye Arm Position Unit of Measurement Sight Measuring