How to Set Up a Successful Still Life

One of the biggest mistakes that most amateurs make when they try to paint a still-life is to casually set up their props and start to paint. They rarely spend any serious thought about the set-up, the lighting, the mood or concept they intend to convey.

Take some time, re-arrange the pieces, make it playtime for you. Look at an arrangement someone else did and set yours up like it. Play with your light source if you can. Long shadows, short shadows, see what works. Check out the colours, are they compatible?

Once you get it set up live with it a while. Spend 10 minutes just looking at it, or more if necessary. After all this painting is going to be your painting, a testament to you observation and love of the art form.

Look at the flow of the pieces, the highlights, the deepest shadows. Put the brush in your mind and paint the strokes in you head before you ever touch the canvas. You will be amazed at the difference this will make. Most of all, paint what you see. If you lose concentration or get interrupted, regroup your mental focus before proceeding.
Tip from: Gary O.

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