Basic Still Life Techniques

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BasicStill lifeTECHNIQUES

edited byRACHEL WOLF

NORTH UGHT BOOKSCincinnati, Ohio

Mask- Still Life Techniques. Copyright 1994 by North Light Books. Printed and bound in Hong Kong. Allrights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means

including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except

by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by North Light Books, an imprint of F&WPublications, Inc., 150" Dana Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45207. 1-800-289-0963. First edition.

98 9" 96 95 94 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Basic still life techniques edited by Rachel Wolf.- 1st ed.

p. cm.- (North Light basic painting series)

Includes index.

ISBN 0-89134-588-4

1. Still-life painting -Technique. I. Wolf, Rachel. II. Series.

ND1390.B27 1994"51.4-dc20 / 93-48568

3l19f02

Stars and Stripes and a PumpkinWilliam Persa20"x2

TABLEof

CONTENTS

Introduction Chapter One

BASICMATERIALSEverythingYou '11 Need

Materials for OilPainting

Materials forWatercolorPainting

Materials forPastel Painting

Chapter Two

GETTINGSTARTEDSetting the

Scene

Collecting Still-Life Objects

Arranging theSetup

Design andComposition

Backgroundand Negative

Space

Starting OutWith Oil

Assemble aStill Life

12

Chapter Three

DEPICTINGFORM

Painting ThreeDimensions

Massing InShape andGesture

Defining theForm of an

Object

Beyond SimpleShapes

Painting Groupsof Objects

Painting aWhole

Composition

Doing aPreliminaryDrawing

Chapter Four

LIGHT ANDSHADOWVALUESA Strong

Foundation

Make YourDrawing Clearer

Enhance theIllusion ofDepth

Strengthen theComposition

Painting aValue Scale

Using Value toCreate a Center

of Interest

Shadows andMood

Chapter Five

UNDER-STANDINGCOLOR

PRINCIPLESThe Basics and

More

The PrimaryColors

Hue, or Familyof Color

Tonal Value

Intensity orSaturation

Learning to Seeand Mix Good

Color

The Palette andColor Wheel

26 3852

Chapter Six

SPECIAL

TECHNIQUESFor SomeDifficult

Subjects

TransparentSurfaces inWatercolor

ReflectiveSurfaces inWatercolor

Reflective andTransparentObjects in Oil

Surfaces forPastel Painting

Using the BrushWith Oil

Using the KnifeWith Oil

Chapter SevenDEMONSTRATIONS IN

OIL

Beginning Witha Neutral Tone

Fruit WithLuster

Iris and Hat

Pretty Bouquet

Setting in theYard

78

Chapter EightDEMONSTRATIONS IN

WATERCOLOR

Basket of Fruit

CastingShadows

Designing WithBlack

Daisies:PaintingReflectiveSurfaces

88

Chapter NineDEMONSTRATIONS IN

PASTEL

Working From aB&W Photo

InterestingStudio Light

Rendering FineDetail

Enhance MoodWith Contrast

Creating ValuePatterns: Two

Views

Subdued Colorfor Intimacy

Layering WithFixative for a

Glowing Surface

Index

118

98

Still Life With a Blue PitcherJane Lund22"x20"pastel

INTRODUCTION

Still life is one of the most traditional and enduring subjects. It is one

of the most satisfying for both the artist and the viewer. In still-life

painting, you can learn all the basics -form, value, lighting, composition,

etc. - that will allow you to paint any subject well. You'll quickly see satisfying

results with still-life painting.

This book offers instruction and encouragement to all painters, regardless

of the medium the painter prefers. Oil, watercolor, pastel -they're all here.

We have assembled this book from some of the best teachings on still-life

painting available everything the beginner needs to get off to a smooth

start. In the first chapters, you will find useful information on materials, color,

depicting form, and special techniques for still-life subjects. The latter part

of the book contains twenty-two demonstrations in oil, watercolor and

pastel. The only additional ingredients you will need are practice and the

knowledge that your interest and effort will overcome any lack of that elusive

quality we call "talent."

Most painters are fascinated by allthe equipment we use for paint-

ing. For most of us, this fascination be-

gan with our introduction to painting,

when we were mystified and confusedby all the materials needed. We wereimpressed with the array of brushes,

paints and other paraphernalia thatmore experienced painters had accu-mulated. Most of us have since becomegadgeteers and collectors, with a life-

long habit of picking up anything that

might be useful.

Despite all the gizmos that most art-

ists keep in their paint boxes or on

their studio tables, we rarely use more

than one or two of them on any onepainting. Instead, we usually stick to

the basics. Although it's fun to collect

odds and ends for special tricks and ef-

Chapter One

BASIC MATERIALSEverything You '11 Need

fects, there is no magic in them. Theywon't do your painting for you.

Good painting begins with knowingwhat the basic tools and equipmentwill do. Eventually, you'll find it easy to

choose a special tool for a particular

texture or effect. In this section, we'll

take a look at the essential tools

needed for oil painting, watercolor andpastel.

In addition to getting the right ma-

terials and learning to use them, it's im-portant to set aside a permanent place

in your home to work, preferably onewhere you can retreat to paint undis-turbed. Many artists have started theircareers on the kitchen table, but having

a space dedicated to your art can be a

real asset. You'll find that you can focus

your energies best in familiar sur-

roundings with all your equipmentclose by. You'll associate your studio

with creative activity, and it will be eas-ier to get into the mood to paint there.It also helps to know where everythingis so you can reach for a tool or brushwithout thinking about it.

Having the right light to paint by isalso important. The ideal lighting^soverhead, color-balanced fluorescent

lighting. You don't want to be painting

in your own shadow. Ordinary fluores-cent bulbs are too cool and incandes-cent lights too warm for you to makegood color choices. It can be a realshock to see a painting done in coolfluorescent light under warm incandes-cent light.

A good, round watercolor brush allows you to paint broad strokes with the side ofthe brush, as well as some finer detail with the point.

Basic Still Life Techniques

Kitchen Interior With FlowersCharles Sovek24"x30"oil on canvas

collection ofLori Cutler-Goodrich,Rowayton, Connecticut

Many artists have started their careers on the kitchen table, but having a space dedi-cated specifically to your art can be a real asset.

Basic Materials

Materials for Oil Painting

The following list includes all the ma-

terials needed for basic painting in oil.

As your knowledge increases, so will

your stock of materials and your sensi-

tivity to different colors and brushes.

First, let's look at a list of suggested

colors. They all don't have to be pur-

chased right away. You can have a per-

fectly serviceable palette from just the

colors with asterisks. Purchase the rest

gradually, as desired.

Oil Colors

cobalt violet

alizarin crimson *

cadmium red light *

cadmium yellow medium *

cadmium yellow paleNaples yellow

burnt sienna *

permanent green light

Thalo or viridian green

cerulean blue *

black

Thalo red rose

brown maddercadmium orangecadmium yellow light *

yellow ochre

raw sienna

burnt umbersap green *

Thalo blue *

cobalt blue

Payne's gray

white (large tube) *

Painting KnifeBe sure to get a painting knife with an

inverted handle. It's much easier tomanipulate than a flat palette knife.

Brushes

You need at least a dozen flat, brightor filbert bristles in sizes 1 through 12

(two of each of the even sizes nos. 2,4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 are good ones to startwith). A no. 5, 6 or 7 square sable soft-ens edges and does detail work. Buy a

small no. 2 or 3 square or round riggerfor small accents and highlights unob-

tainable with any of the other brushes.

Brush WasherA brush washer is a mandatory item forkeeping your brushes clean betweenstrokes. Silicoil makes a jar with acoiled wire at the bottom especiallymade for cleaning oil painting brushes.You may choose to buy the jar and notthe can of cleaning fluid that's sold

with it. Turpentine or paint thinner

will do the job just as well and at a frac-tion of the cost.

You could also make your ownbrush washer by using an empty pea-

nut butter or jelly jar with a coiled-up

wire coat hanger at the bottom.

Whether you buy or make a brushwasher, your oil painting equipmentisn't complete without one.

After a day's painting, clean your

brushes one last time by first swishing

them out in the cleaning jar and thenthoroughly wiping them clean withyour fingers using a mild soap andwarm water. Make sure that no excesspaint remains in the brush.

Brush DauberFor a brush dauber, use a tuna or cat-food can stuffed with a couple of paper

towels to daub off a drippy brush be-fore mixing a fresh batch of paint.

Painting SurfacesStretched or unstretched primed cot-ton or linen canvas, canvas board or Vs-inch Masonite (covered with two coatsof gesso, one horizontal and one verti-cal) makes a suitable surface for oilpaint. Sizes can range from panels assmall as 9" x 12" all the way up to20" x 24" or even larger. The best all-around sizes for the exercises in thisbook are from 1 1" x 14" to 16" x 20".

Palette

Plate glass with a piece of white paper

or cardboard beneath it is ideal to use

for a palette in the studio but impracti-

cal for travel and location painting be-cause of its weight and fragility. White

Plexiglas, on the other hand, is suitable

for both purposes. Ideally, you should

have both glass and Plexiglas, withPlexiglas cut to fit your painting box forfield work and the larger plate-glasspalette on your taboret for studio

work. White or gray paper tear-off pal-ettes are fine in a pinch but tend to

deteriorate after repeated brushing.

Ifyou do choose a paper palette, usetwo of them, a larger one for holding

the colors squeezed from the paint

tubes and a second, smaller one,placed on top of the first and reservedfor the actual mixing of paint. When thesmaller mixing palette is covered, sim-

ply tear off the filled page and you in-

stantly have a fresh surface to work onwithout the inconvenience of disturb-

ing the colors on the larger palette. Tan

or brown natural wood palettes may bedistracting to work on because thewarm color and deep tone hamperjudgment in mixing colors and values


objectively (especially when workingon a white canvas)

Razor Blade ScraperThe hardware store variety scrapermade for scraping old paint from abuilding or window is particularly use-ful for quickly scraping wet or dry paint

from your palette and providing a cleanspace for new mixtures.

MediumUse undiluted turpentine for laying in

a painting with thin washes or toning

a canvas. Some useful mediums areRes-N-Gel (Weber), Win-Gel (Winsor &Newton) and Zee (Grumbacher); whilenot as flexible as a mixture of stand oil

(or linseed oil) and turpentine, they dogive the paint a juicy quality that some

painters find attractive. You'll also

need some portable medium cups thatcan be stored in your painting boxalong with your paints and brushes.

Turpentine, Paint ThinnerTurpentine is used for washing outbrushes Wood-distilled gum turpen-tine is less of a health hazard than pe-

troleum-based paint thinner or mineral

spirits.

Paper Towels or Rags

Rags are okay but tend to get saturated

quickly, so you may want to use a high-quality paper towel.

Brush CanCharles Sovek12" x 12"

oil on canvas

collection ofMartha Rodgers,Atlanta, Georgia

Basic Materials

This is a watercolor of artist Al Stine's

studio setup.

Materials for WatercolorPainting

Let's start with a look at the watercolor

tools we just can't do without: brushes,colors, paper, a palette, boards on

which to stretch the paper, water con-tainers, sponges, tissue, a pocket knife,

HB pencils, erasers, a spray bottle anda sketchbook. We'll also discuss some

of the nonessential but handy itemsneeded for special purposes.

BrushesThere are many excellent brushes onthe market, and a few that are not sogood. Buy smart when purchasingbrushes. That almost always means

buying the best brushes you can afford.Red sable-hair brushes are the most

expensive, but they are also undoubt-edly the best. With proper care, theywill last for a very, very long time andwill prove to be a wise investment If

you can't afford red sable, ox-hair

brushes are a good second choice.There are also some new synthetic

brushes that are much less expensivebut have gotten good reviews from wa-tercolor painters. They should bespringy and hold a good point. Syn-thetic fiber brushes with some natural

fibers, such as the Winsor & Newtonseries 101 Sceptre, are very goodchoices, especially the rounds.

The following selection of brushesis recommended for the beginner.There are enough brushes to get thejob done but not so many that choos-ing the right one becomes troublesomewhen painting.

Use a 2-inch Robert SimmonsSkyflow for wetting the paper, for

painting backgrounds and for painting

skies. This brush does have synthetic

fibers but still holds a good charge ofwater. For a versatile selection, use


three red-sable flats a 1 '/2-inch, a 1-

inch and a V-i-inch and four red-sablerounds nos. 12, 8, 6 and 4. The largerthe number, the larger the brush. Usethe largest brush you can when paint-ing; small brushes invite fussiness.

Keep an oil painter's \ 2-inch bristle

brush for applying heavy pigment intowet areas and a small, Vs-inch oil bristle

brush for scrubbing and lifting outsmall areas of a painting for rocks andstones. Use a no. 4 rigger a long, thin

brush to paint fine lines such as the

rigging of ships, lacy tree branches andgrasses.

Brushes are a major investment, soit pays to take good care of them. First,never use your sable or ox-hair brushes

for acrylics, which tend to dry near theferrule (the metal sleeve that holds the

hairs on the wooden handle) and even-tually ruin the springiness of the hairs.

If you do use acrylics, use syntheticbrushes.

Second, you should clean your wa-

tercolor brushes thoroughly after every

painting session. Make it a habit torinse them in clear water after eachuse. Many artists also use a mild soapto remove any residue that may lingerin the bristles. Always make sure yourinse out all the soap.

Third, store the brushes in a way

that protects the fibers, such as verti-

cally in a brush holder, as shown in theillustration on page 5. Transport themtaped to a piece of stiff cardboard. If

you do store your brushes for a longtime, put a few moth crystals in theircontainer. Moths love sable hair. Ofcourse, the best way to combat thisproblem is to use your watercolorbrushes every day!

A selection of brashes appropriatefor watercolors.

This is a good way to transport your brushes. For added protection, place a secondpiece of cardboard on top and tape the pieces together.

Basic Materials

These are gradated washes ofFrench ultramarine blue on 140-pound Arches cold-press paper (right) and 112-pound Crescent Rough Watercolor board (left). A strip ofdry brush shows the difference in texture. Color was also lifted with a sponge aftermasking out an area with tape. As you can see, the color lifts off the board moreeasily than the paper, giving you much cleaner whites.

Paper and BoardWatercolor paper comes in various

weights and textures. When we speakof the weight of the paper, we meanhow much 500 sheets of a particularpaper weighs. For example, if 500sheets of a paper weigh 140 pounds,it's called 140-pound paper.

The less a paper weighs, the more itwrinkles and buckles when wet. Paperlighter than 140-pound will need to bestretched. The heavier papers can beheld down on the drawing board withlarge clips, and the very heaviest can beused unmounted.

The standard size watercolor sheetis 22" x 30". You can purchase full

sheets from your local art supply

store or by mail order. A half-sheet(22" X 15") is the size most commonlyused by watercolorists. Paper can also

be purchased in blocks. Watercolor

blocks are pads of paper glued to-

gether on all four edges; you work onthe top sheet, then slide a knife aroundthe edges to separate it from the block

when dry. Blocks come in sizes from7" x 18" to 18" x 24" and in a variety ofweights and textures.

Watercolor papers come in several

different textures. Very smooth paperis called hot-press because it's made bypassing the paper between large, hotrollers. Cold-press paper has a more

textured surface because it has not

been subjected to heat in its manufac-ture. Rough paper has a distinctly tex-tured surface.

Paper texture and technique areclosely related. Some techniques willwork on rough or cold-press paper butnot on hot-press, and vice versa. Forinstance, dry-brush techniques are not

very effective on the smooth surface of

hot-press paper because the dry brush

is supposed to deposit color on theridges of the paper's surface. On theother hand, the smooth surface of thehot-press paper allows for easier lifts

and wipe outs.


PalettesYou can use anything from a dinner

plate to a butcher tray for your palette,

but there are a number of excellentplastic palettes made just for water-color. AJohn Pike palette, a plastic pal-ette with a tight-fitting lid and twenty

wells for colors, works well. The wells

surround a large central mixing area

and are separated from it by a small

dam that keeps the mixtures fromcreeping into the colors. The top can

also be used for mixing colors. This pal-

ette is airtight, so at the end of thepainfing session, you can place a small

damp sponge in the center of the trayand replace the lid. The colors will staymoist and ready for use for several

days.

Notice that the list of colors to the

right includes a warm and a cool of

each primary (for example, both Win-

sor blue cool, tending toward

green and French ultramarine blue

warm, tending toward purple). This

allows you to create color temperaturecontrast even \\ hen using one basic pri-mary. Having a cool and a warm ver-sion of each primary helps you mixcomplements without getting mud.

Also, keep an assortment of second-ary colors (colors composed of two pri-mary colors), including cadmium or-ange, an intense orange difficult to mixusing other colors, and cobalt violet,another hard color to get by mixing.

It's a good idea to arrange your col-ors with the cool colors on one side

and the warm on the other. Put your

colors in the same place every time so

that you won't have to hunt for them.

You need to think about what colorsyou want to mix, not where to find yourcolors.

Be generous when putting colors onyour palette you need plenty of pig-ment to paint a watercolor, and dig-

ging and scrubbing for color whilepainting will only disrupt your thinking

process.

A basic palette of colors, as shown be*low, contains (left to right):

olive green

Payne's graycobalt blue

Winsor blueHooker's green dark'

French ultramarine bluecerulean blue

Winsor greenalizarin crimsoncadmium redcadmium orangecadmium yellow palelemon yellowcobalt violet

burnt siennaburnt umberVan Dyke brownrate umberraw sienna

brown madder alizarin

Basic Materials

Materials for Pastel Painting

There are many different kinds and

qualities of pastel sticks available to-

day. Soft pastels give rich, paint-like

textures. There are several goodbrands and, generally, you get what

you pay for. Rather than buying a set of

pastels, you may choose to put to-

gether your own set, including soft pas-

tels from many different brands. Start

with dark, middle and light values of

about a dozen colors.

Easel

It's better to work on an easel than atable. On an easel the pastel dust fallsaway from the painting's surface. With

a table, it just lies there getting in the

way.

Drawing BoardTry a piece of Vs-inch Masonite.

Masking Tape or ClipsUse a clip or piece of tape across each

corner to hold the paper on the board.

Bristle BrushThis is handy for brushing pastel awayif it needs to be removed. It worksequally well on paper or sanded board.

Fine SandpaperThis may be used to remove pastel onpaper and at the same time rough upthe paper so it is receptive to pastel

again.

Selection of Soft Pastels

Keep a dark, middle and light value ofeach of the colors vou choose. If vou

This shows pastels stored in drawers; pastels set out on a porcelain plate; a coffeecan, wire basket and rice flourfor transporting pastels; and a small group sepa-rated out to use.

start out with a small set, expand it sothat you have a dark, middle and lightvalue of each color in the set.

When you buy a new stick of color,cut a slit in the paper and break off apiece of pastel about a Vi* long. Keep

the pieces of pastel on a porcelain plate

next to your easel. Store the sticks in a

drawer until you need more of a partic-ular color. Save the papers. They havecodes on them identifying the hue andvalue of each stick.

Store and transport your pastels inrice flour. The pieces of pastel areplaced in a basket made of heavy win-dow screen. This basket in turn isplaced inside a coffee can. and rice

flour is poured over the pieces. The

rice flour cushions them, preventing

breakage during travel. To use the pas-

tels, just sift the rice flour out, dumpthe sticks back onto your palette, andvou re readv to work.

10 Basic Still Life Techniques

Methods ofApplicationPastel can be applied with a tip for lin-ear strokes, with the side for broad, flat

strokes, or as powder, sprinkled on orapplied with the touch of a finger. You

can't mix pastel colors the way you canmix a liquid medium. Pastels can bemixed only by painting one layer overanother. Pastel can be blended byworking one stick of color into an-other, or by rubbing with a finger,stump or tissue. They can be movedaround by painting into them with wa-ter or turpentine.

Removing PastelIf the pastel gets too heavy, whisk someaway with a bristle brush. Use this

method on paper or board. Sometimesthe pores of the paper become so filledwith pastel that slick, shiny spots de-

velop. What has happened is that thetooth of the paper has been crushed byrepeated applications of pastel. Thebristle brush won't help. These spotscan be revitalized and the pastel re-moved by gently sanding them with apiece of light sandpaper. But don't use

sandpaper on a sanded board. Thesandpaper will remove its sandysurface.

FixativeFixative causes the light values to

darken and the colors underneath tobleed through to the surface. There-fore, it is not wise to seal a finishedpainting with a fixative. Ifyou are goingto use fixative, use it only to seal coats

of pastel you intend to cover with anadditional coat. Instead of spraying a

finished painting with a fixative, strike

Red and green appliedwith side of pastel

Blue and greenanalogous colors

Small spots removed bytouching each spotwith a stick of pastel

Complementary colorgreen over red

Small spots of board eliminated bytouching with the little finger

the board several times on the back.These blows knock off any pastel thatis loose enough to fall off later. If smallopen areas result, retouch these before

framing.

Paper and BoardThe pastel paintings in this book weredone on Canson paper, etching paperor Masonite board. Of the Canson pa-

pers, the lighter brown or gray toneswork well with pastels. Avoid the darkpapers and brightly colored ones. Thefront side of the Canson has a screen-

like texture that some artists find objec-tionable, but the back side is smoother.

While any etching paper will work, try

the texture of German etching. Tonethe etching papers with additional

washes of acrylic or casein.

Basic Materials 11

An artist cannot paint without tools,and if you plan to paint still lifes,

still-life objects are among your tools.You shouldn't try to imagine the shape

of an object without having it beforeyou, any more than you would paintwithout your brush.

Collecting Still-Life ObjectsFinding still-life objects is one of thejoys of painting. If you enjoy doing flo-

Chapter Two

GETTING STARTEDSetting the Scene

ral or still-life paintings, you'll need anassortment of different objects tochoose from when arranging setups. Ifyou keep using the same things over

and over, you will quickly becomebored and so will your viewers.

What you collect does not need tobe expensive. Antique stores oftenhave broken objects that they will sellat reduced prices. An object does nothave to be in perfect condition to be

used in a painting. Collect an assort-

ment of different-sized and -shaped ob-jects, especially vases in clear glass anddifferent tints, both opaque and trans-parent. Collect metal objects and un-usual objects, such as garden tools andhats of every shape and gender.

As you select objects for your paint-ings, think about size, shape and color,but by all means let yourself be in-spired. There's nothing wrong withpainting something many times if youenjoy it, but don't paint it just because

Blue GingerJarJoyce Pike24"x30"oil

Any object can be used in a painting as long as the values are correct. Joyce Pikesuccessfully used several different objects in this painting by emphasizing someand understating others.


it is familiar to you. This is a bad habitand can keep you from growing.

Change the objects in your setupuntil you are anxious to get started.

Plan for well-related shapes and color;it's more difficult to change a shape orcolor on your painting than to makeyour setup look right from the start.

If you decide to collect artificialflowers, be selective. Buy a few of bet-ter quality and buy from several differ-ent manufacturers. It's also a good ideato mix real and artificial flowers. Thiswill help your bouquet look morerealistic.

These two photographs showJoyce Pike's studio storage area. You can see thevariety ofcolors and textures Pike has to choosefrom when setting up an arrange-ment for a still life. Her collection helps inspire her to paint.

Getting Started 13

Arranging the SetupEvery good painting starts with a goodidea Inspiration is important to the

success of a still life, but inspiration

alone isn't enough. The arrangementmust be based on shape, color and bal-ance. If you are using flowers, let the

flowers take center stage. You can dothis by making sure that all the othershapes are the right color and value for

their intended spot. The light source isalso part of the composition. Whereand how much light is striking influ-ences the balance. Cast shadow is partof the lighting. Without the light, theshadow doesn't exist. The stronger thelight, the darker the shadow. This dark-

and-light pattern is the most important

part of any painting and should be con-sidered from the very beginning. Again,

don't guess. Have everything well

planned before you start.

All three examples shown herecould make good paintings. However,Example 1 seems a bit busy. Example2 has good balance, but it is not quiteas appealing as Example 3. The keyword is balance to make everythingwork.

Example 1. This has good color, but the objects are too far apart. The purple clothat the left tends to make things a bit busy by covering up a needed resting spotforthe eye. The small brass coffeepot/server is lost in shadow.


Example 2. With only afew minor ad-justments, things start to improve. Over-lapping the tWO bonis to the left makesthat area less busy Removing thepurplecloth also cuts down on clutter Ihe lighton the white cloth brings the eye do/cnfrom the light flowers.

A .41Example 3. When the blue-and-whitebowl is moved to the right oftheflowers,it makes a nice contrast with the darkspot behind it. Moving the coffeepot tothe left, behind the small bowl, andallowing the handle to overlap the vase

help break up the straight line of the

vase. All the objects now balance better

for several reasons. The dominant colorsare blues and violets, but a bit of thecomplement can be seen in the decora-tive drape on the table. The small color-

ful bowl to the left brings both dominantand complementary colors to the leftedge ofthe canvas. The larger bowl adds

light and design in the dark area whereit is needed to continue the patch forthe eye.

Getting Started 15

Design and Compositionflowers in a bouquet are like actors ona stage: Some must command more at-tention than others for a balanced per-

formance. Design means making sureall the elements are placed in the cor-

rect spots to balance perfectly on the

canvas. Either the darks or the lights

should predominate; they should not

be in equal proportion. The midtonesneed to support the darks and lights,the values merging in some areas to off-set where the darkest dark and thelightest light come together to makethe focal point. The strongest contrastwill draw the eye first, before it startsits visual trip through the canvas. Ev-

erything needs to work together tomake a perfect balance.

Design for The PorcelainPitcher

The plan for this composition was touse a limited number of lilies with nosupporting flowers. The busy back-ground was chosen to contrast with thestiff, harsh look of the lilies. Placing the

pitcher in front of the white vase

helped to balance the long, narrow

canvas. The dark pattern of the largegreen leaves needed another dark forbalance, so the ginger jar was placed

behind the white vase. If the ginger jarhad been brought to the front and thedecorative pitcher to the back, the darkvase would have drawn the eye towardthe bottom of the canvas.

A halftone was placed on the lowerleft corner to break up all the light onthe tablecloth. The cast shadows on theright side break up the negative spacethere. Remember, cast shadows are avery important part of the painting. Butdon't get too complicated with shad-ows at first.

The painting is warm and high key.more light than dark. The midtones

The Porcelain Pitcher

Joyce Pike30" x 15"

oil

The busy background here offsets the stiff formal lilies.


play a more important part here than

in most paintings because of the deco-

rative midtoned background. Eventhough the pattern on the pitcher is

subtle, it helps draw the eye back fromthe busy background to the lower frontof the canvas. Everything in a painting

should have a purpose. Spend timeplanning even' element before youstart to paint.

Design for Tulips andSweet Peas

A good painting need not be a busy-one. Here, each beautiful, fresh tulip is

shown at a different angle. The tulipsto the left bend gracefully to allow theeye to travel downward from the cen-ter tulip. The dark vase is softened bythe wild sweet peas, which are of thesame dark value and color. The whitecup with the cobalt blue pattern pro-

vides variety and also works to breakup the hard edge of the very dark bluevase. The tiny blue duck in front of thevase varies the hard edge where thedark vase sits on the white tablecloth.

The two full-blown tulips in the directcenter show foreshortening. This givesthe illusion of three dimensions on atwo-dimensional surface. The two pet-als from a spent blossom and thedraped sweet peas help complete thedesign and break up negative space.The painting is simple yet effective.

Let's talk briefly about color. Theoverall hue here is blue, with blue-green and blue-violet as adjacent huesand the yellow of the tulips as the com-plement. It's easy to see that the paint-

ing is high key. The dark purple of thevase works as a strong dark and alsosupports the dominant hue. The over-all look is cool, with just enoughwarmth on the tablecloth to break upall the cools.

Tulips and Sweet PeasJoyce Pike24" x 18"

oil

This simple composition is fresh and vibrant with its brightcomplementary colors.

Getting Started 17

Background and NegativeSpace

Every inch of the painting has to workfor you. You can't concentrate just on

flowers and ignore the area behind

them or in front of them. Neutral grays

may be the most important colors

you'll learn to mix. If a table edge

shows, it is part of your composition

and has to be carefully considered. If a

background is flat and all one value orcolor, you will need to fill part of thisarea with flowers or foilage to make itwork. These three finished paintings

illustrate this space-filling problem.

Colorful Fruit and FlowersVCTien artist Joyce Pike had everything

ready to go on this setup, she put a24" x 30" canvas on her easel. Thenshe just couldn't get inspired. She says

that she never seems to get as excited

about painting smaller paintings as she

does about painting big ones. So she

changed to a 30" x 40", her favorite sizecanvas. Now she had another problem:There was more negative space in the

background. What to do? The flowerswere very colorful, so she used several

colored grays in the background andallowed the brushstroke to showslightly. If she had used a neutral graybackground, the flowers would havejumped out with all their color, whichwas not her intention. She wanted tokeep it subtle, so she placed strongercolor in the background.

Happy WandererThis little 24" x 18" painting was doneas a demonstration for a class. The mat-ilija poppies and wisteria are a beauti-

ful combination. The floppy look of the

poppy and the graceful draped look of

the wisteria go together very well. The

background is gray and almost flat, butthe flowers take up most of the picture

plane. It was not necessary to showbrushstrokes or more color in the back-

ground here. The one small figurineleft too much negative space on the ta-ble, so Pike draped the wisteria downto touch the table and scattered a fewwisteria blossoms on the tablecloth.

There are many ways to fill negativespace. Those spaces may end up beingrelatively empty or full of objects, butyou must make sure they work by plan-ning your composition well. Don't

leave it to chance.

Colorful Fruit and FlowersJoyce Pike30"*40"

oil

In this painting, the colorful back-

ground harmonizes with the brightlycolored roses.


Venetian Glass

Here, we see flowers going to the edge

and even a few going out of the canvas.

When this is done, the background isalmost nonexistent, evident only

where it is seen around or through the

flowers. The table could have causedproblems. If the decanter and liquorglasses had been too close to the edgeof the table, it would have made thepainting appear to be cut down from alarger size. By placing the colorfully

painted vase to the left, Pike coulddraw the eye down to the glasses again, filling negative space. A little

empty space is necessary. There should

always be a spot somewhere, even if it'ssmall, where the eye can go for a placeto rest during the trip through the can-

vas. If composition is working prop-erly, your background and negativespace will be essential parts of that

composition.

Happy WandererJoyce Pike24" x 18"

oil

Theflowers take up most of the pictureplane here, so it wasn 't necessary to addmuch to the background.

Venetian Glass

Joyce Pike12" x 9"

oil

In this painting, the background was

not a problem, but the glasses were

arranged carefully on the large negative

area of the tabletop.

Getting Started 19

Building a Stage

The photos on this page show how touse an ordinary- cardboard carton to

construct a simple stage for your floral

arrangement or still-life setup.

Cut the carton so as to leave the bot-

tom and two adjacent sides. The sidesbecome the background, and the bot-tom is the stage for your floral arrange-

ment. If your box is a bit small, it's easyto extend the sides or the bottom withmatboard or craft paper. Next, selectthe props to include and decorate the

stage to your liking. You are the stage

manager.

Place the box so the light strikes oneside of the background and the otheris in shadow. With this setup, you can

arrange the objects so their shadowsides are seen against the sunny plane

of the background, and the sunny sidesof the objects stand out against the ad-joining dark background.

This basic principle of light against

dark and dark against light makes eachform easily recognizable. You can

achieve other lighting effects by simply

putting a cover across your stage setup.

Once everything is in place, photo-graph your arrangement. Time goes byso quickly when you paint that theflowers may begin to fade before youknow it. With your photograph for ref-erence, you have the security of know-ing your arrangement will last as long

as vou need it.

Use a sharp knife to cut down along op-posite corners ofa large cardboard car-ton.

Cut along the bottom edge to re-move two adjacent sides of the box.The remaining two sides and bot-tom of the cardboard carton be-come a stagefor yourfloral ar-rangement.

Place the stage so one surfacefaces the light and the otheris in shadow. It is now ready to be decorated with yourfloral arrangement.


Here (right), a blue mat board wasaddedfor more color and a piece offab-ric was draped across the back. Nextcame a jug of dried leaves. The blueleaves repeated the color of thefloor,

and their shadow made an interestingpattern across thejug's surface. Finally,a vase of roses was added in thefore-ground.

Here (below) is thepainting byJan Kunzdonefrom this stage setup.

Getting Started 21

Starling Out With Oillor this project, you will work from asimple still life you can set up on a ta-

ble. Use a floor or table lamp for a

strong light effect. Prepare or obtain

some 12" x 16" or 14" x 18" painting

panels. You will also need bristlebrushes, a painting knife, an oil cup to

hold paint thinner and some wiping

rags. Titanium white and burnt umberarc the only oil colors that you will use,

since you will be working only withlight and dark values.

Working With Two ValuesThe first part of the project will be wet-into-wet painting without any prelimi-

nary drawing. This will help you be-

come accustomed to using your brushwith oil paint. This project is a study,not a finished painting, so detail andfinish are not important.

On your palette, premix two mounds ofoil paint in a dark and light value. Useburnt umber and titanium white.

Foryour still life, select simple items andarrange them with some drapery as abackground. Use a strong light sourcefrom one direction for strong shadowareas. A still-life box can be made asshown on page 20.

Light ground, adding dark

STEP 1

Brush the lighter paint over the panel'ssurface using a little painting mediumto thin the paint.

STEP 2

Brush in the darker values using thedarkerpaint. Be sure to wipeyour brushfrequently with a rag.

STEP 3

Put in more darks and then some lightsto correct the shapes. Blend some areastogetherfor softer edges.

Dark ground, adding light

STEP 1

Brush the darker paint freely over thepanel's surface, covering it thinly.

STEP 2

Brush in the lighter values as you seethem while squinting.

STEP 3

Put in more lights and blend some areastogether. Use darks to correct edges.


Working With Three ValuesTo show full form or modeling, youmust have three main divisions of valuein your painting. These are the dark,

middle and light value ranges. For thispart of the project, premix these threevalues using burnt umber and white.Make sure that you have good divisions

between them so that they stand wellapart from each other. Work from thesame still-life setup or try changing thelight direction for a different lighting

effect. Remember to squint as youstudy your subject so you can accu-rately judge its value relationships.Compare important edges by aligning

them vertically and horizontally againststraight lines. Use a narrow brush han-

dle as a guide. This is only a study for

practice; don't be concerned if it looksunfinished.

Add a third, middle tone, to the two val-ues you 've been using.

STEP 1

Start working directly on a panel with asmall bristle brush and thinned-outburnt umber. Try to put in just the largesimple shapes, ignoring all the little de-tails. Compare important edges againsteach other.

STEP 2

Paint in more lines to strengthenformand work in some darker values with anoil wash. Squint while looking to seethese main shadow areas.

STEP 4

Match the main value areas and paintthem in. You may have to blend some ofthe premixed paintfor certain areas.Wipe your brushes out frequently.

STEP 5

More controlled mixing of values andaddinggood edges where needed help todevelop theform. Remember not to over-brush. Leave your strokes alone.

STEP 3

Brush in some of the dark- and middle-valuepaint to begin to buildform. Then,using the lighter paint, find some of theimportant edges.

Getting Started 23

Assemble a Still Life

In this project, you will literally assem-

ble- your still life as you draw it. Youwill need an Kbony pencil and a sheet

of 18" x 2-i" newsprint paper. (Al-

though this demonstration is in pencil,

you can do this same exercise in any

medium.) Depending on the complex-ity of the objects you chose, you willneed about twenty minutes to finish

this exercise.

Select two or three objects andplace them on a table or a stand, and

draw a contour of them. Find anotherobject, place it with the others and

draw it on the same drawing. Add an-other object and draw it. Continueadding more and more objects untilthe composition is full. Notice howthe shapes of your drawing interlock.

Watch how the lines around eachshape help define the shapes

around it.

STEP 1

Draw two or three still-life objects.

STEP 4 STEP 5


STEP 2

Add another object and draw it.STEP 3

Continue adding more objects and drawing them one by oneuntilyour drawing is complete.

STEP 6 STEP 7

Stop when you have drawn everything in yourfield of visionas limited by the edge of the paper.

Getting Started 25

A major task tor an) artist is to de-velop the >kil I to render shape andform accurately. For the still-life artist,

rendering the relationship of shape to

shape and maintaining the balance of

proportions in a painting are equally

important. Here are a few exercises to

help you see and paint shape, form and

a complete composition.

Massing In Shape and GestureFor the following exercise, you'll need

a medium-sized brush, a tube of either

burnt umber or Payne's gray, and a can-vas or canvas board. Place four or five

objects on a table within easy sight ofyour easel or drawing board. The items

don't necessarily have to relate to each

other and can be as diverse as a shoe,frying pan, hat, coffee cup, apple or

bottle. Choose materials that are com-plementary in shape, for instance, a

busily patterned running shoe posi-tioned beside a white ceramic coffee

mug. Illuminate the setup with an indi-

rect source of light. An overhead fluo-

rescent lamp is ideal. Less effective butstill workable is natural light originat-ing from either a window or skylight.Avoid using direct sunlight or any otherpowerful light source that casts strong

shadows or splits the forms into harshpatterns of light and dark.

Exercise

Thin a generous amount of paint withmedium and daub a small mark no big-ger than a penny anywhere on the can-

Cbapter Three

DEPICTING FORMPainting Three Dimensions

v as or paper. This breaks the tension of

assaulting the formidable, untouched

whiteness of the painting surface. It's

surprising how many students and agood number of professionals can beoverly timid about making their firstmarks on a clean canvas or fresh sheet

of watercolor paper.

Beginning with whatever object inthe grouping strikes your fancy, pro-

ceed to mass in its overall shape. Start

with the innermost part of the form

and push the paint outward toward the

edges. Avoid sketching any preliminary

guidelines. Work directly with yourbrush. Use a value approximating mid-

dle gray and apply plenty of thinnedpigment. Draw as you paint, trusting

your sense of proportion, using the

edges of the paint mass to define the

outline of the object.Work with the single, middle-gray

tone, disregarding any value changes,

highlights or cast shadows you may ob-serve. Your only concern is to capture

the shape and gesture of the subject. Ifyou mistakenly paint beyond any of theform's boundaries, wipe off the areawith a paper towel or tissue and restatethe passage more accurately. Completeall five objects, and remember you'rejust painting an exercise, not a master-

piece. Each sketch shouldn't take morethan ten minutes to finish.

Critique

Now step back and study what you'vedone. Are the proportions reasonably-accurate? Is the object recognizable? If

not, try a few more sketches. Although

this first exercise was concerned withjust shape and gesture, a number ofob-jectives have been achieved. First, arecognizable silhouette has been cre-ated. Second, massing-in has replaced

the need for a preliminary drawing. Fi-nally, the finished piece has conveyed

a sense of substance and gesture.This may seem like a very basic exer-

cise, but think about how many artforms of the past were based on the

idea of massing in the shapes of ob-jects. The ancient cave paintings of ani-mals in Lascaux, France, the decorative

paintings on Greek pottery, and thewoodblock prints of such Oriental art-ists as Hokusai and Hiroshige, all revealthe graceful power inherent in the artof shapemaking. In our own century,Henri Matisse and American impres-sionist Maurice Prendergast are justtwo of the many artists who, after learn-ing traditional painting methods, in-

tentionally reverted to the silhouette as

a means of personal expression.


Photograph of the subject.

Silhouette of the subject massed in withthin washes of burnt umber.

Depicting Form 27

Defining the Form of an ObjectThis lesson will deal with lightening

and darkening the tones of paint to

give the subject a feeling of form andtactile solidity This principle seems to

contradict the usual "paint what you

sec attitude, but visual painting is

only one of many ways an artist can ap-

proach a picture.

Showing the form of an object tac-tilely means using various gradations of

tone and color to guide the viewer's

eye over the surface of an object. Visual

painting, on the other hand, generally

focuses entirely on the more two-

dimensional effects of light and color.

Exercise

Rearrange the objects used in the lastexercise or replace them with newones. Add white to the burnt umber orPayne's gray already on your palette.

Avoid being skimpy with your paint.Oils are meant to be used opaquely, so

right from the start, get into the habit

of squeezing out plenty of pigment andapplying it with generosity. Now brushin a pale, flat wash to approximate theshape of the object. Use your sense oftouch rather than the visual impression

of what you see. Reach out in front ofyou and feel one of the objects. Explorethe form with your fingers, letting themfeel the terrain, establishing points

nearest and most distant from you.Imagine that you are a mapmaker onan expedition, responsible for record-

ing the geography of the location. What

form feels highest? What areas go un-

der, around and back? What parts feel

deepest? Take as long as you need to

become familiar with the surface char-acteristics of the object, retracing steps

if need be, until the form is thoroughly

clear in your mind.

Now pick up your brush and retraceyour journey on the canvas. The lighttone already painted will be reserved

for the portions of the object closest toyou. Start with the parts of the form

that begin to recede, painting themand all the other receding areas of the

object a slightly darker value. Keepdarkening the values as you paint those

forms farther from you. Remember thisrule: The closer a form is to you, thelighter the value you use to paint it; the

farther a form is from you, the darker

the value you use.

Critique

Complete all five objects in a similarmanner. If done successfully, the itemsin your painting will appear not only to

be solid and convincing, but also to beilluminated by a light source posi-tioned directly where your handreached out to touch the objects.

Study your completed exercise andnotice how each sketch takes on an al-most sculptural solidity. The reasonsfor this are the tactile method used torender the forms, as well as the disre-gard of any conflicting tonal changes

caused by the actual light sources. Yoursketches should appear to be lit by a

source emanating from your out-reached hand.

Beyond Simple ShapesPainting three-dimensional form is a bitmore complicated than defining sim-

ple shapes. You create the illusion that

an object is round or solid by showinghow the values change as light falls onthe object.

Rounded ObjectFor a rounded object, there are fivevalue areas to portray. The brightest isthe area where direct light is falling, thesection that is farthest from the light

source. Fourth is reflected light in the

shadowed area; this is usually seen asa lighter edge on the outside of theshadowed area. The fifth and generallydarkest value is the cast shadow. This

is the area around the object where nolight is falling, because the object isblocking the light rays.

Objects With Flat PlanesOn a shape with flat planes, the planesfacing the light source will be light,

with the lightest values closest to the

source and the rest of the plane becom-ing slightly darker as it moves away

from the light. Planes facing away from

the light source will be darker. Howmuch darker depends on how much re-flected light falls on them. Those facing

completely away from the light will be

darkest.


Photograph of the subject.

Paint thepart of the object closest toyouthe lightest. As theform recedes, paintthe areas progressively darker untilyoureach the most distant edge.

:::.;., *****

Depicting Form 29

Painting Groups off ObjectsOnce t mastery of shape, gesture, tac-

tile- solidity and home values is ac-quired, you should be more than well

equipped to tackle this next exercise,which involves clustering items to-

gether and painting the grouping as a

unified whole. Your objective is tounify the various forms in your setup

into a single pictorial statement.

Getting carried away with the parts

of a picture is a common painting er-

ror. Students and professionals alike

often become engrossed in a particularobject in their painting, only to stepback and see their precious effort stick

out like a Rolls Royce at a construction

site. Remember, no matter how beauti-fully you paint an object, it remains amere study until it is artfully incorpo-

rated into a composition.

ExerciseChoose four or five objects of variousshapes and sizes with different home

values and arrange them in a group.

Step back and study the setup, overlap-

ping and repositioning things until the

forms appear unified. A large jug orserving tray, for example, placed be-

side or behind a couple of small items

like a piece of fruit, a tube of paint or

a can opener will give the subject scaleand variety. Avoid lining up items

evenly in a row like a picket fence.

Overlap things; stack one object on topof another; turn a form on its side or

even upside down if it makes the com-position more interesting.

Begin painting the setup relying on

touch more than sight. Try to work onall the objects simultaneously. Youmight start with the near edge of oneform, move to the far side of another,

and then jump to the middle masses ofa third. Keep the background simple.Little or no background additions areneeded because the canvas has alreadybeen toned a light gray.

Concentrate on getting the effect of

the grouping as a whole rather than fo-cusing on any one part. Disregard any

cast shadows, painting only the tonesyour sense of touch directs you to

make. The completed painting shouldappear as a unified cluster of objectsagainst a nearly neutral background.

Critique

Study your composition. Do your ob-jects combine to create an overallshape with a pleasing silhouette, or

have you focused too much on details?Which attracts your eye the composi-tion of the group or isolated items?

Strive for balance. A group of forms aswell as individual objects can be mas-terfully painted, contributing to the in-

tegrity of the overall composition.

C: Whatever objects you choose to paintwill appear only as a collection ofpartsuntilyou compose them into an interest-ing arrangement.

30 Basic St n. rechniques

cKeep rearranging the objects until the overall shape takes onan interesting silhouette.

Ifyou get carried away with the details, take a break and viewthe picturefrom a distance. Remember, it's the grouping as awhole that counts, not any one individual part.

Still Life With Plums, Knife, Glass andBottle

Charles Sovek

IT x 16"

oil on Masonitecollection ofZolton andJune Henczel.Sorwalk, Connecticut.

The lay-in for this work was done exactly the same nay you were instructed in

the exercise. Artist Sovek spent an hour positioning the objects until he was

satisfied with the overall shape. Notice how the overlapping gives a compositioninterest.

Depicting Form 31

Painting a Whole CompositionThis exercise, covering pages 32-35. in-

cludes the background as part of your

subject. Backgrounds tend to be the

forgotten stepchild of far too many stu-dent compositions. By giving a back-

ground the same careful attention lav-

ished on the objects in a painting,you'll find your picture achieves a unity

that can transform an ambitious study

into a far more complete artistic state-

ment.

ExerciseFor this exercise, you'll need an assort-ment of objects, an unpatterned piece

of cloth or drapery, and an empty card-

board box into which the items will beplaced. Trim off the top and two adja-cent sides of the box. Secure the drape

to the top edge of one of the two re-maining sides, positioning the fabricdown the side and across the bottomof the box. If you don't have a box,

push a table against a wall and fashion

the drape in a similar position by tack-

ing or taping it against the wall and let-

ting it drop down and cover the table.Ruffle the cloth a little until some

interesting fold patterns break up the

flat monotony of the material. The mid-

dle gray home value of the drape willprovide just the right foil for showingoff the lights and darks on the other

various home-valued forms. Place the

objects in the middle of the setup, re-arranging and overlapping them untilthey form a unified whole.

Repeat the same painting procedure

as in the two previous exercises. After

massing in the shapes of the objectsand a few dominant folds, begin tomodel and solidify the various forms.Think of your brush as a sculptor's toolincisively carving the broad planes of

the subject and then refining each itemwith more detail as the picture takes

shape. Treat the forms of the drapery

the same as the objects, using yoursense of touch to show where the val-ues lighten and darken. By approach-ing your setup from either side ratherthan the front, the play of light to darkacross the forms will appear more in-

teresting and three-dimensional. Con-tinue painting until the objects anddrapery appear convincing and the en-tire surface is covered.

Critique

Does the background of your composi-tion overpower the objects in the fore-ground, or have you achieved a satisfy-

ing balance? Do your forms appearsolid, contributing to an integrated

composition? Have you lost yourself in

details or have you painted boldly, cap-

turing the strength of your forms? A

continued study of objects and draperywill add strength and drama to yourstill lifes.

A cardboard box trimmed of two of itssides and a piece of drapery are allthat 's needed to make a still-life back-drop.

32 Basic

Afew preliminary doodles such as these can quickly reveal the best arrangement tochoosefrom.

Lay in bold patterns of value until the painting begins to take shape. Working withas big a brush as you can comfortably handle, reduce the subject down to a largemosaic of shapes and values.

Depicting Form 13

Building on the lay-in, start defining the

home value of each object.

As the painting begins to take shape, start modeling each ofthe individual items. The painting is complete when the objectsappear solid and the composition unified.

Remember, your light source will dictatehow the forms are modeled.


Autumn Still LifeCharles SovekWx20"oil on canvas

collection ofArmand de Grandis,Torrington, Connecticut.

A classroom demonstration that worked. Sometimes they don 't! Painting anentire composition requires constant attention to the combined effect of theoverall ?nasses. What holds this busy picture together is the strong pattern oflight and shadow that weave in and out of the various forms. Motice the useof soft edges in the shadow and how they make the objects appear to meltinto the background. Vois device helps the overall unity and defines the round-ness of theforms.

REVIEW YOUR PROGRESS

Line up all four exercises in front of you and study them to makesure you thoroughly grasp each of the principles presented. You

have just solved many of the basic problems encountered by artists

in still-life painting, as well as in landscape, interior and figure work.

You'll be using these basic building blocks of painting again and

again, so be sure each one is clear in your mind.

Depicting Form 35

Doing a Preliminary DrawingWhen a setup contains several objectsof different size and shape, it is of ut-most importance that even object bedrawn correctly. This is not the sameas loading a composition with detail.

Angles and ellipses must be drawn withcare Your viewers will notice if some-

how your painting doesn't seemright." The preliminary drawing is the

place to establish perspective and

placement before committing yourself

to painting.

A clock was chosen as one of the ob-

jects to show you how carefully eachline and angle is drawn. Every elliptical

shape on each object has been drawnas it would be seen from eye level.Once eye level has been established, allellipses will become deeper the fartherfrom eye level they are. This is clearly

seen in the drawing. Each object isdrawn in correctly to make sureenough space is allowed for all of theother objects. Each object or flower ina still life can be simplified to one of

the basic shapes, such as a circle,

square or triangle. The ellipse is proba-bly the most important shape for thestill-life painter to master.

Drawingfor Black AntiqueClock

After suggesting the placement of ob-jects with light washes, Joyce Pikestarted this drawing by building a boxin perspective where the clock was tobe placed. Then she drew a plumb linethrough the center of the area where

Adjustyour drawing until it is right. And watch those ellipses!


the vase would be drawn and drew theforeground dish, checking the mea-

surement of height relative to width.

This gave her the correct angle for plac-

ing the ellipse. The dish has the deep-

est ellipse because it is farther from eye

level.

Pike measured width against height

by standing in front of the subject,

holding her brush out straight and hor-

izontally and locking her elbow to be

sure she didn't move even a tiny

movement could have given an incor-

rect reading. She held her thumb onthe brush handle. From the tip of the

brush to where her thumb was placedgave the width reading. By turning the

brush and taking a reading of heightwithout moving her thumb she couldsee how much smaller the measure-ment of height was relative to width.

This is called a rule of thumb (that'swhere the old term came from). Aftercorrectly building the box for the clockusing two-point perspective, Pike then

found the center of the box by drawing

an A'. Once she located the center sheknew exactly where to place even' partof the clock. This drawing procedurewill make even the most intricate ob-ject easier to draw. The flowers werenot drawn as individual shapes at thistime, but the suggestion of their place-

ment was important for color and

value. Not so with the still-life objects;they had to be carefully drawn rightfrom the beginning.

Black Antique ClockJoyce Pike40"x30"oil

A solid painting begins with an accurate drawing.

Depicting Form 37

Chapter Four

LIGHT AND SHADOW VALUES

If there were merely two conceptsthat you should remember in mak-

ing better drawings for better paint-

ings, they would be shapes and values.

We discussed ways to depict form inchapter three. In this chapter, we will

begin learning about tonal values,

which are simply the lights and darks

in your compositions. These are the

structures on which a painting is built.

If you are working with a drawing me-

dium that makes blacks and shades ofgray, you are working with tonal value.

A black-and-white photograph is an im-

age that also shows only tonal value. All

the different colors have been changedinto grays.

Learning to work with tonal valuesinvolves two different things. First, you

have to learn how to see colors and in-terpret them as shades of gray on yourpaper, the way black-and-white film

does. Second, you have to adjust andmodify those values so your drawing isboth clear and interesting.

To begin, we need to think aboutone of the properties of color. Color

has three dimensions:

Hue the color's name, such as yel-low, red, blue, etc.

Intensity its relative brightness

and clarity or dullness Value

Some colors are always lighter in

A Strong Foundation

value than others. For instance, on the

spectrum of colors seen through a

prism or in the rainbow, yellow is

lighter than red, but red is lighter than

purple. Any two colors can be com-

pared to see if one looks lighter than

the other in this way.

When translating the colorful worldwe see into values, you need to identifythe lightest color and make it white ornear white in your drawing, and iden-

tify' the darkest color and make it blackor near black. All the other colors will

then be rendered as lighter or darker

grays in a range or scale between thelightest and darkest.

The key to this process of renderingcolor into value is to make contrastcomparisons between any two areas ofvalue. This becomes automatic veryquickly and requires little consciousthought.

In the following exercises, you will

practice looking at colors and translat-ing them into various shades of gray.However, since our eyes see more sub-

tle differences in color than you could

ever hope to reproduce exactly withany drawing materials, you will need todo more than just copy the values yousee.

You will have to make changes in thevalues you see to make your drawingclearer and more appealing. Some

darks will need to be darker than theyactually appear, and some lights willhave to be lighter.

Your goals in adjusting the tonal val-ues are to make the drawing clearer, toenhance the illusion of depth and tostrengthen the composition. Let's look

at each in turn.

Make Your Drawing ClearerThe key to all of these goals clarity,depth and strong composition is con-trast. Wherever two shapes are adja-cent, there should be sufficient con-trast in tonal value to make it clearwhich shape is which, or which shapeis in front of the other. If two adjacentshapes are drawn with the same orclose to the same value, the contour

edge between them will be very diffi-cult to see. The two shapes will appearto merge as one and the viewer willlikely become confused.

In nature, or in the subject matteryou are drawing, you may often see twoforms that are very similar in value but

different in color and texture. Thesedifferences make it easy for the eye todistinguish the shapes. However, if you

render them as shades of gray in yourdrawing, you won't have color or tex-

ture to make the differences easily seenunless vou alter the values.

Tt)e drawing on thefar left is confusingbecause shapes ofthe

same value are adja-cent. The one next to

it is clearer because

there is a distinct

contrast along adja-cent contours


Remember this rule: Contrast at thecontours creates clarity.

Which shape you alter depends onmany factors, but it is often an arbitrarychoice. One or the other has to belighter or darker for the sake of clarity.

Your decision may be based on the rea-

sons given below for enhancing depthor strengthening the composition.

Enhance the Illusion of Depth

The tonal values in your drawing will

also greatly affect the illusion of depth.

You may remember from the paintingscompleted in chapter three that darker

values seem to recede into the distance

and lighter ones appear to advance. Al-

though there are many exceptions, youcan apply this general rule to the tonal

values in your drawings. If you want to

create a strong illusion of depth, makethe closer things lighter and the fartherthings darker.

Following this rule will help you de-

cide what shapes to make a little darkerwhen you see adjacent forms with verysimilar values. Make the shape that youwant to appear farther away darker.

The drawing on the left lacks depth because the shapes are the same value. The oneon the right has the illusion of depth because the more distant shapes are darker.

The drawing on the left lacks interest because there is no value contrast. The one onthe right is more interesting because it has a definitefocal point the apples on theright, the area ofgreatest value contrast.

Strengthen the Composition

Finally, tonal values play a major rolein the composition of your drawing.Tonal values will largely determinehow your drawing will be seen by theviewer. The pattern of lights and darkswill determine what part of the draw-ing is seen first, and what parts will at-tract and retain the viewer's attention.

Light and Shadow Values 19

DEMONSTRATIONValue-Pattern Sketch

For this exercise, you'll need an Eb-

ony pencil, one stick of soft (6B or IB)graphite and white paper. Plan to

spend thirty to sixty minutes develop-

ing this sketch.

The focus in this drawing is on the

overall pattern of lights and darks in

your subject matter. Every compositioncan be reduced to a flat pattern of lights

and darks, and you must be aware of

and sensitive to this pattern because it

is the foundation of the pictures de-

sign.

It is not easy to identify and drawjust the lights and darks because of thehabit of seeing and wanting to drawthings as objects. The left side of thebrain naturally pays attention to the

identity of what you are looking at asseparate objects; it has no use for thetonal-value pattern. But it is the tonal-

value pattern that is critical to the suc-

cess of your drawing. As an artist, you

should cultivate the habit of noticing

the pattern of lights and darks indepen-dent of the identity of the objects.

Color must be ignored as well. Twoobjects, side by side, one blue, theother green, but of the same value, mayneed to be considered as one big darkshape. In this exercise, you are goingto make small sketches of your subjectby drawing only the lights and darks.Don't draw contour lines as bound-aries of objects.

Like an out-of-focus photographicslide projected on a wall, your sketchshould simply be a rough or general-ized record of the overall pattern of

lights and darks. It may help to look atyour subject and squint.

In fact, your internal dialogue as you

draw could sound like, "There's a largedark shape over here, and a light oneover there, and here's a middle grayshape under that shape."

STEP 1

Begin with a loose, ges-tural indication of the

entire arrangement ofyour composition.

STEP 2

Scribble the lights anddarks that you see.Don 't draw distinctedges. Think ofyoursubject matter as onebigpattern oflights anddarks.

STEP 3

Develop the draw-ing without out-lining everything.

Resist the urge to

define edges. In

the last moments

ofyour drawingadd only thosedetails (and yes,edges, finally),

that clarify your

drawing. Be selec-

tive.

-2J


DEMONSTRATIONGesture-Value Sketch

Use one stick of black Char-Kole and

a sheet of white paper for this demon-stration. You'll need thirty to sixty min-

utes to complete this sketch.

This is the same exercise as the pre-

vious one, except it is done with Char-Kole rather than graphite. Use a 1-inch-

long piece of the Char-Kole on its side

to make the darks in your drawing.Draw the lights and darks directly,

without outlining even thing first. Look

for the overall pattern of lights anddarks, and draw that, not the separateobjects. Include only those details and

edges that really make for a clearer,more attractive drawing. Don't over-

work it.Squinting is a very useful way of

studying the overall value pattern of

your subject. Squinting eliminates thedetails, making it easier to see thelarger pattern of flat shapes of value.

As many artists have pointed out,there are very few lines in nature. Whatwe render as lines on our drawings are

only edges and borders, abrupt valuechanges and coloration. Nevertheless,we are in the habit of seeing these as

line, and it is sometimes difficult to rec-ognize their true nature.

This is a difficult exercise to do inthe sense that it does not offer us the

familiar and comfortable net of linesthat we use to build and organize ourdrawings. It forces us to see things as a

pattern of shapes of values. We mustbehold the larger pattern rather thanlooking at the details.

Tonal-value drawings without linesare real workouts for the right side ofthe brain!

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DEMONSTRATIONCharcoal and Chalk on Gray Paper

You'll need an hour or more to com-

plete this drawing, depending uponthe complexity of the subject matterand the degree of detail desired. As-

semble your materials first one stick

of soft white blackboard chalk or a 2Bwhite Conte crayon and one stick ofblack Char-Kole. soft compressed char-

coal or a 2B black Conte crayon. You'll

also need a sheet of 18" x 24" gray char-coal paper, a plastic eraser and a

kneaded eraser.This exercise is the closest thing you

will do to making a drawing that resem-bles a black-and-white photograph of

your subject. Like a camera with black-and-white film, you are transforming

color into value. Dark colors and ob-jects in shadow become dark grays, andlight or bright colors and objects in thelight become light grays or white.

Unlike a camera, you are an intelli-

gent agent capable of making subtle

STEP 1

The Composition. Begin with a gesturedrawing of the whole arrangement ofyour subject matter, using either blackor white chalk. Take the lines all the wayto the edges of the paper; don 't noodlearound in the center.

STEP 2

Tonal Pattern. Begin establishing theshapes of light and dark. The Char-Koleand chalk can be scribbled over eachother, letting the strokes blend on thepa-per into the shades ofgray you need. Ig-nore detail. Your objective in this phaseis to eliminate the gray of the paper bycovering every square inch with grayw >fyour own making.

adjustments in your drawing that willmake it more interesting, clearer andmore expressive than any mechanical

or photographic process ever could.

You will need to simplify and gener-alize many of the differences in tonalvalue that you see. You will have to

make judgments about how to reducethe myriad tonal values you see to a few

rather exaggerated value differences.

Your drawing should progress inthree distinct phases: (1) Establish the

composition. Include all the shapes inthe foreground, middle ground andbackground as well. Take the lines allthe way to the edges of the paper. (2)Draw the tonal pattern. (3) Add the de-tails.


STIP 3

The Detail and Finish Phase. Once thepatterns of light and dark have been es-tablished, begin adding details. Stepbackfrom your drawing and look at itcarefully. Ask the following: How can Imake the shapes look three-dimen-sional? How can I create more depth?How can I make the drawing clearer'

STEP 4

The Finished Drawing. Add all thefinalsubtleties, details and nuances.

Comments: Although you may not really see any shapes that are a pure whiteor any shapes that are a true black, you will have to make some lights whiteand some darks black to distinguish what is closer to you and what is farther

away.


The Right Value

As you saw in the exercises you just

completed, no one value is always right

for a bright highlight or a dark shadow.

Values exist in relationship to each

other. \XTien you put two drawings or

paintings next to each other, you may

find that the value of the lightest light

in one is as dark as the value of the

shadow in the other.In any particular painting, the lights

will be light and the darks will be darkin comparison to the values within thepainting itself. In a high-key painting,

all the values will be light; in a low-key

painting, all the values will be dark.

Even using a partial range of values,

you can model forms to look three-dimensional.

When you are modeling a particularform, it can be helpful to begin by lay-ing in part of the lightest light and thedarkest dark. Then you can design theother values in relationship to those.

Or you can establish the middle valueand go in both directions from there.The important thing to remember isthat the roundness or flatness of a par-ticular object will be established largelyby your use of values.

Red SneakersScott Prior48"x60"oil

To create a very realistic scene in a

painting, the artist must model not onlythe main objects, but all of the details.It's in the consistent portrayal ofligf*and shadow on all theforms of thesubject that the illusion of reality iscreated. Notice the care with which Priordeveloped the values in a detail such asthe electrical outlet. By looking at thisone small item, you can tell exactlywhere the light source is.

Strawberries on the DeckWilliam C. Wright40"x30"watercolor

Look at the way Wright shows lightfallingon the teacups and silverware, convincing usof three-dimensionalform with carefulmodeling.


Painting a Value Scale

Even' object you observe has a particu-lar home value. That's true for colorssqueezed from a paint tube as well. Yel-

low, for instance, is nearly white in

value. Red and orange approximate themiddle range of the tonal scale,

whereas blue, green and purple tendto have dark home values. To becomefamiliar with the idea of home values,let's paint a value scale consisting of

five tones. Later it will be useful for

comparing the values of each color inyour compositions.

Exercise

Begin by drawing a horizontal series offive 2-inch squares at the top of your

canvas. We are going to fill each of thesquares with a progressively lighter

value. Start with black and end withwhite (fifth square), filling in three

evenly gradated values in between.

Keep the paint consistently opaque,

and remember to clean your brushthoroughly after every mixture, beingcareful to keep each tone free of anytrace of a previously mixed value. Besure each tone touches the next, be-cause any white space between valuesmakes accurate judging more difficult.If in doubt about the accuracy of avalue, squint your eyes and compare itto the tones above and below it. Studythe contrast between each value andmake sure it's consistent. Does theoverall effect appear to smoothly gra-

date from dark to light? Is the scale freeof any jumpy spots or weak contrasts?If not, repaint any problem areas untilthe sequence looks even.

Rather than give numbers to the dif-ferent gradations, think of the tones as

simply white, light gray, middle gray,dark gray and black. These easily re-membered names are less confusingthan a system of numbers.

Black Dark gray Middle gray Light gray White

It's easier to see whether your gradations are accurate ifyou leteach value touch the next rather than leaving strips of white can-

vas in between.

Light and Shadow Values i5

Using Value to Createa Center of Interest

Drop an orange jersey onto the dark

green grass of a playing field, and even

from a considerable distance the gar-

ment will attract attention. On theother hand, throw a worn, leather

baseball mitt onto the same field, and

from just a few yards away the objectappears to melt into its surroundings.

Subduing a secondary segment of acomposition by framing it with a patch

of similar values or accenting a focal

point by surrounding it with contrast-

ing tones is a device painters have used

for centuries. The principle is easily un-

derstood and, once learned, can be a

mainstay in your tonal repertoire.

The following exercise uses this de-vice to help you have control over the

focus, pattern and mood of your com-position. Using the same five values dis-

cussed on page 45, set up a still lifecomposed of half a dozen pieces offruit or vegetables ranging in value

from middle gray to white. As a center-piece, choose anything from a black-

ened cooking pot or frying pan, to awine jug or any other large, dark formthat tonally contrasts with the lighter

items. You'll also need one piece eachof light-, middle- and dark-toned clothor drapery for the different back-

grounds employed. These could berandom pieces of fabric, old shirts anddresses, bath towels, or even sheets of

paper or cardboard.

Begin by draping the lightest of thethree backdrops over the base and upthe vertical wall of the empty stage onwhich the objects will be placed. 111.

minate the area with a strong light from

either the left or right. Next, arrange

the items so one light-toned and onemiddle-toned piece of fruit or vegeta-

ble overlap the shadow side of thelarger dark-toned centerpiece. Thefour remaining pieces should be within

close proximity but should not overlap

the two that will eventually form a focal

point. The aim of this lesson is to fea-

ture a different segment of the still life

in each of the three sketches without

repositioning any of the items, so take

your time until the arrangement is set

up according to plan.

Exercise

Divide your painting surface into three

equal sections. Sketch three identical

compositions of the subject before youbegin painting. For your first painting

sketch, paint the subject as it appears,because the strong contrast betweenthe dark centerpiece and the lightbackground is all that's needed to forma center of interest. For the secondsketch, however, feature one light-

toned and one middle-toned piece offruit instead of the large dark pot.

When these tones are set against thesame light background, the task provesdifficult because of the overpoweringpresence the pot assumes against the

background. Replace the light back-ground drape with the middle-tonedfabric. The pot then recedes in impor-tance and the fruit assumes a moredominant stance. There still remainsone last hindrance, because all of thepieces of fruit assume equal impor-tance. The way around this is to slightly

darken all the values on the light side

of the fruit except the two featuredpieces. Likewise, you'll need to slightlylighten all the tones on the shadow sideof the secondary items. One final ad-justment: Assuming the dark side of thepot appears black in shadow, lighten

all the values in that area to a half-step

between black and dark gray, leavinga soft halo of black around the twofeatured pieces offruit. This takes at-tention away from the overpoweringmass of the pot and focuses attentionon the fruit, directing the strongest

value contrasts around the center of in-terest.

In your final sketch, focus on two

light home-valued pieces of fruit. Re-

place the middle-toned backgrounddrape with the dark one. Now that bothpot and background are dark, the prob-lem changes. The various light- andmiddle-toned items are clearly seen,

and the two featured pieces of fruit canbe accented using the previously usedspotlight effect. The new problem is toget the pot to still appear defined, yet

keep its proper secondary position in

the composition. The solution is to em-ploy what artists call a passage. This

means darkening the values beside thelight side of the object and lighteningthe values beside the dark side of the

form. In the case of the pot, the device

not only helps define the form of the

object but also gives added dimensionto the area. This light-against-dark,

dark-against-Iight principle can be

used again and again in your picturesto emphasize a form and add to the illu-

sion of space.

46 Basic Still Lift techniques

The white background emphasizes thedark of the pan and minimizes thelighter-home-valued pieces offruit.

The middle-toned background subduesthe importance of the pan and placesemphasis on the two light-home-valuedpieces offruit.

.

TJ)e dark backgroundplaces even moreemphasis on the light home values of thetwo apples while making the darkerpieces offruit and the pan appear tomerge into the background.

,-


Shadows and MoodNot only does value define form, but

when used as shadow, it helps to de-velop mood. These four questions willhave a big effect on the emotion ofyourpainting: Are there shadows in thecomposition? Where do they fall? Howbig are they? How dark are they?

A scene with no shadows or verylight shadows will tend to appearhappy and peaceful. On the otherhand, a scene that is mostly in shadowwill tend to be mysterious. Dark shad-ows add even more drama and mys-tery. If shadows appear to be encroach-ing on the main figures or objects, thepainting will appear ominous.

Many artists add strong cast shad-ows to create more interesting divi-

sions of space in compositions. How-ever, it's important to be aware of the

emotional effect these shadows have aswell.

Carnations in Winter (left)William C. Wright28"x21"watercolor

Chocolate Brunch (right)William C. Wright39"x29"watercolor

Both of these paintings are of still lifes in sunlight. Each one is an arrangement ofcolorful domestic objects on a tabletop. Woe main difference between the two is thevalue of the shadows. In Chocolate Brunch, the shadows are comparatively dark,and those dark shapes against the very light areas of the painting cause a dramaticweight. In the other painting, most of the shadows are in the light range, and thefeeling of the image is light and airy.

EXERCISE: DARK SHADOWS

Paint or draw a simple still life. Carefully render each object, but don'tinclude any shadows.

Repeat the still life, but this time add shadows. All the shadows shouldbe in the light-to-medium range. Don't include any dark shadows.

Repeat the still life again, this time making all the shadows very dark.Compare the three compositions. Notice that the painting with dark shad-

ows is more dramatic than the others.

48 Basic Still Lif

Documents

Basic Still Life Techniques