Still Life Drawing

What is a still life drawing?

A drawing of inanimate (unable to move on their own) objects. They are usually made up of common things found in nature like food, flowers, plants and rocks. They can also contain man-made things like cups, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes and much more. The advantage of a still life tis that the artist has more control over the arrangement the design of the composition unlike other types of subjects like landscape or portraits.

Masters of the Still Life Paul Cezanne– The Black Marble Clock

Claude Monet – Still life with apples and grapes

Paul Gauguin – Still life with apples

Your Assignment The entire class will break in to two groups. These groups are responsible for putting together a still life that will stay in the classroom. The still life will contain any inanimate objects from around the room. However, once the still life is agreed upon by the group, it cannot be changed! Make the still life as interesting as possible and fill up the space. After all, you are going to be drawing it using charcoal. The still life composition must be completed today and a due date will be given soon. Here are the requirements for the assignment:  Done in charcoal  Use an 18 X 24 piece of drawing paper  Objects in drawing are life size or bigger  Interesting composition (cropping if necessary)  Follow directions given in demonstrations

Key terms to keep in mind from this project: Contour DrawingShading (value)  Drop (or cast) shadows Modeling

Demonstration of Charcoal techniques Charcoal can be a tricky and sometimes frustrating tool to use because of its non-permanence. Listen to the demonstration closely and ask for help when needed to get a better understanding of how to control the charcoal.

Above all, remember that drawing something to create the illusion of 3D is all about finding simple, smaller shapes within the entire object. Gather around and I'll show you what I mean. This bowl is simply made up of two ovals connected by two diagonal lines!