Preparations

Some preliminary thoughts

I had read the instructions for this assignment earlier, before approaching the two research points of project 4, and felt overwhelmed and a bit puzzled by the question what might be the value of painting another arrangement of uninteresting household items. But doing some research on the genre, even though the time I could afford was very limited, made me more aware of how I might construct the task in a way that would be interesting for me. I’m approaching the task of searching appropriate objects and composing a nice arrangement with new enthusiasm!

The task instructions: Painting a still life

The arrangement

– objects, plants or vegetables
– at least three objects with interesting and contrasting surfaces
– simple objects with personal interest and pleasing colours
– pay attention to colour, texture and shape
– use strong directional light from window or lamp

 Elements of the assignment

– several preliminary drawings to capture variations of shape, colour and shadow
– optional: make notes, eg on colour tones
– make a small colour study to establish the palette. Pre-mix colours using at most three colours for each, make notes on the mixture to help you later. Remember colours can also be made by using layers. Take time to explore the colours of the arrangement
– practice to develop an effective technique if you wish to employ a freer, less naturalistic style

Technique

– paper choice: At least A3 size, 140 lb or heavier
– watercolour can be combined with a drawing medium and any technique encountered in the course so far can be used

Tackling the final painting

– begin with a line drawing (outline sketch)
– start the painting with light colours, work in layers over dry colours to build up tones. Use the colour study as a reminder of the mixtures you need
– use the preliminary drawings to help with shadows and changes in tone
– consider changing brush sizes to wash in a big feature like a shadow or paint fine details
– take time to observe the development of the painting while working on it. Be attentive for the effect of marks on the whole painting when working on a detail.

Working on the assignment

Choosing objects and initial drawings

I decided on a still life with flowers for this assignment. I thought that flowers are not simple objects, but they have nice colours and they would remain interesting as objects even with repeated drawings. I bought red and white flowers and put them in a clay vase. I combined this with a clay pitcher and a small clay mug. I added a greenish plate because I liked the combination with the green stems of the flowers. I added a mango and a grapefruit, too. The mango takes up that green too, and it gives me a second dark red accent to balance the dark red cloves. The research point on colour composition made me aware of this aspect. The grapefruit represented an interesting colour variant to the clay objects.

The first sketch depicts the arrangement where I had put it on the staircase, with the black timber which protects the walls. I wanted to get a rough indication how my objects would appear in landscape format. But I had to sit on the staircase for this drawing which was very uncomfortable, so I decided to search another place for the arrangement.

 

I liked how the white flowers appeared before the light yellow walls and decided to keep the idea of placing the arrangement before the wall. I went upstairs and put the objects in roughly the same arrangement right on the floor. I could draw this while sitting on the floor. Not much more comfortable but with breaks it would work.

I made the second sketch in portrait format, which seems to work better. I wanted this to be sort of a greyscale study, to explore light and dark tones of my arrangement. Upstairs the timber at the floor edges is white instead of black, which I liked for the composition. The timber repeats the white of the flowers and these will be the lightest parts of the painting, besides maybe some reflections on the clay objects.

 

The third sketch, another small one in landscape format. I did this as a first colour study and to see whether the colour composition would work. I chose coloured pencil. I wanted to depict the corresponding colours: white flowers and white timber beam, green stems and greenish plate and the green tone in the mango, and the red flowers with the reddish side of the mango. I think my ideas for the colour composition work well but colour pencil was not the right medium for the task. I found the colours not intense enough. Or maybe I did not employ the pencils in the right way. Also the landscape format felt again a bit like having to squeeze the objects.

Preliminary conclusions are that the portrait format seems to work better. I felt comfortable with how I placed the objects and also liked the colours in my arrangement. I think I can proceed to more detailed studies. I think the final drawing will benefit if I explore the clay forms and their shades. Probably I’ll also need to study the flowers a bit.

For the final painting, I imagine watercolour combined with pen and ink. I think fine dark lines for the floral details and sketchy shape outlines might look nice, combined with a more generous approach for colouring flowers, the fruit and the clay objects.

Studies

Pastel colour study in A3, in the sketchbook: Exploring the brown tones in the composition. Difficult to depict white flowers with a bold medium – I drew around the space that was reserved for the flowers, but this techneque does not seem to materialize them in the painting.

 

Pencil greyscale study, sketchbook: I like this one. I tried to capture the relative light and darkness of a smaller section of the arrangement. Maybe for the first time that I succeeded in using a broad range of light and dark tones, with real contrasts, in pencil. The sketch is bold, almost like a painting.

 

First and second watercolour study: These were meant to try out the colours of the arrangement in watercolour. I felt embarrassed because I found them just miserable. In the first one, the composition does not hold together, the objects much too small. The second is a little bit better for the composition and use of colour, but I’m asking myself what I’ve actually learnt so far in this course.

I don’t know whether my still life arrangement will work for me at this stage. It is much too complex, I think. The white flowers: I don’t know how to paint them. I chose a paper size between A4 and A3 but this looks much too small for the composition. I feel I should paint my objects much larger to have some space for work with colours. Or crop my objects to make them fill more of the sheet, instead of making them small to fit in the small area.

For the colours, I’m not very convinced about the dominance of brown tones in my painting. The actual arrangement looks much fresher and less yellow. The white flowers pop out, the brown tones are more neutral. Ideas for improvement are to use a grey cardboard instead of the wooden floor, this might improve the overall colour impression.

Maybe I should clean up my composition and reduce the number of objects. The arrangement is too complex. Or I should make many separate studies to tackle the complexity in smaller chunks.

More studies

Sketchbook: Details of the flowers. A closer look at the clove blooms, quick line drawing and greyscale sketch. I discovered that the outer edges are lighter than the inner parts of the bloom. I decided that I would not want to try to exactly depict this because I’d go crazy. But maybe I can use the information in the way I use the brush: When it is filled with fresh colour, then set out to paint the background of another leave (intense colour), then fade to paint the actual blossom leaf.

 

I moved the arrangement to a different place, from the stairs into my study, onto the drawing desk, because evening was approaching and I needed light. I had been working with soft daylight and knew I had to change something in the lightning to follow instructions of using directional light. It took me a while to set up a new composition where the light would support the composition.

The dark red was difficult because it tended to turn into black when there was not enough light. I moved around my objects until I finally found a composition I liked. I made another greyscale study of the new arrangement in the sketchbook.

Then I decided to do a larger monochrome study in watercolour. I had the idea of masking the white flowers and building up the darker tones around them. I chose Van Dyck brown and a loose sheet somewhat larger than A3 in portrait format. I had also worked on the composition to bring the objects closer together in order to better support the portrait orientation.

I enjoyed painting and like the result, despite several shortcomings. I think masking the white flowers worked quite well, and I prefer this loose approach to depicting single blooms accurately. I tried to get the tones right but this was only moderately successful. The mango and grapefruit on the plate in the front are not recognizable as objects. All objects are distorted. I did not make an outline sketch because I wanted to develop the objects through application of layers but I think it’s very difficult to get the composition right without the support from an outline drawing.

I made another greyscale study in the sketchbook and chose charcoal to take a closer look at the fruit on the table. I think that this study is quite successful because it develops three-dimensionality.

I liked working on a larger sheet for the monochrome study. On the other hand, I see the benefit of smaller studies as the charcoal one in the sketchbook, because they oblige to focus on the essential and leave out any detail. I think I’ll also do a study for the technique I’d like to employ, pen and ink with watercolour.

Compositional sketch and colour study

I wanted to improve the deptiction of shapes and made another compositional sketch, but larger this time (A3 format). I tried to pay attention to negative space. Then I made a small colour study with the intended technique for the final painting. I think this study shows significant improvements over the first two colour studys, in colour as well as in composition. I was glad because I felt that the earlier studies I made for this assignment began to pay off.

   

Final painting

For the final painting I had to slightly change the arrangement because the flowers didn’t look good anymore. I couldn’t find dark red cloves again, so I bought a different kind of dark red flowers. The white ones were replaced with the same kind of flower.

I only made one preparatory pencil study of the buds of the new red flowers. I think I captured the character of the buds in my lines but I wasn’t able to depict them naturalistically. I was a bit frustrated but on the other hand thought that a more generous painting style without accurate detail would suit me better and I hoped that the small study had improved my understanding of the flower. Then I proceeded to the final painting.

What I like best in the painting are the white flowers, they look very energetic. I think I chose a suitable technique by employing masking rubber and laying the background wash on top. I also think that the painting benefitted from all the studies I made for preparation. For example, the colour studies improved each time and the final painting can be recognized as the latest in a series. The pencil sketches helped to improve composition and depiction of objects, in that there’s much less distortion compared to initial attempts. The greyscale studies with pencil and charcoal helped to improve the tonality in the painting.

I think the painting has a major weakness in the greenery around the red flowers to the left. I think I was not concentrated enough when I painted that area and the colour layers I added destroyed what I had painted in earlier layers. But I decided to stop at one point because I did not believe I could improve without overworking that area.

I also decided to not employ lines as initially planned. I liked the lines in the little colour study but feared they’d be too bold for the painting. I would like to continue exploring the subject. For example try different variations like with and without lines, or practising to improve on colour intensity and painting the greenery. But in light of the time restrictions for the course it’s probably wiser to move on.