1. Northwood Elementary Art Docent Program
Still Life Drawing
Presentation modified and prepared by Alice Finch 2016
Northwood Elementary Art Docent Program

2. Examples of Still Life Art

3. Pitcher and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
Here are some famous examples of Still Life paintings…
This was painted in It is Oil on canvas. (Private Collection aka not owned by a museum)
Pitcher and Fruit by Paul Cezanne

4. Anne was a French Painter who lived from 1744-1818
Anne was a French Painter who lived from She lived in Paris and painted this in 1770

5. Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh
This one of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings! He painted it in 1889 and it resides in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

6. Dishes and Fruit by Henri Matisse
Matisse painted this in 1901
Dishes and Fruit by Henri Matisse

7. Today’s Project Still life drawing
What does still life mean?
Today we are going to draw objects using simple shapes
An orange is a circle
Still Life: A painting or drawing of an arrangement of objects (inanimate), typically including fruit and flowers and objects contrasting with these in texture, such as bowls and glassware.

8. Step 1 - Name Write your name on the back of your paper.
Lets play a quick game with the kids. Let them all look at the objects in front of them and go around the class getting each child to name something they see.
Talk about texture, detail, color and shadow.

9. Step 2 – Observe what is in front of you
Take the time to really see the shapes and sizes in front of you
What are the objects made of?
circles
Rectangles
Proportions- What is the biggest thing and what is the smallest
Where do objects overlap?
What are the shapes in between the objects?

10. Step 3 – Practice Drawing
On your index card, draw the simple shapes of your objects using pencil.
Draw them BIG- fill the page
Draw what you see.
Make sure you draw the edge of the table!
Use your eraser to make corrections.
This is practice so try again if it isn’t quite right
When you have a practice draft that fills the page, then move on to your final paper

11. Step 4 – Draw Still Life Move to your big paper.
Draw your objects using simple shapes with pencil.
It is ok to make correction lines
Outline your shapes with a dark color of chalk pastel.
Fill in your shapes with the chalk pastels.
Color the table surface and the wall behind.
Cover the whole paper with color.
Try blending colors with your finger.
Make sure you put some shadows in your drawing.

12. Don’t forget to use your finger to smudge the colors.
Its ok to get messy! 