John Peace is working towards gaining his certificate in Still Life Painting and Drawing with us at the London Art College. He is being tutored by artist and mentor Alan Dedman who enjoys creating still life paintings and imparting his knowledge to his students.
Alan encourages his students to use all mediums on this course and also to draw from life. Setting up a still life to work from is an exciting challenge. Collecting interesting objects that work together and make a statement can be tricky and might take some practice. John however, is taking it all in his stride. He is creating some wonderful paintings from each set up he does, as you can see below. The objects John has chosen to paint are very thought provoking shapes which brings interest into his paintings.
Adding different light sources can also create all different moods for your artwork. If you are looking to draw your mug for instance, you can place your mug in full sunlight or half shade to create some lovely sunlight and shaded areas. Also try using an angle poise lamp to cast shadows on the ground. Alternatively set the still life up in a darkened room using a night light candle in a jam jar as the only light source. This adds lots of interest into the scene. Try this out using varying objects and look at them from different eye levels and angles too. Disclaimer – please be responsible when using candles!
We hope you have fun creating your own Still Life Painting and Drawing. Why not email them to us so we can display them here on our blog!
