Black, Gray and White

       Black is absolutely do not have any color, It is a color of nothing, like a black night. White is a combination of all the colors. Gray is  a combination of Black and white.

     I tried to use the three colors in a still life artwork, The Black color became the dark shadows of the subjects. Used the Gray on the light area, White on the lightest area.
 
    The phone is actually mine and the box of crayons was my cousins. I used crayons in this another still life art.

    Can anyone share their experience in combining at least three colors in one artwork?

Using Oil Pastel

           A bunch of guava fruit from our grandaunt's backyard when I and my cousins visited her. I picked it up from the tree, lay it down still on a table and started to sketch it first with a pencil, to make the outline. Then I started to trace it first with black color for the dark areas and edges, color yellow to make it ripe as it is, and the color green for the leaves and to cover a little ripeness. We ate the guavas after I used it as a subject for still life. 

           I tried to experiment with oil pastel for the still life and the result was good. I never mind the shadows because I was just trying the Oil pastel.

Skulls for Still Life

    Creepy it is, but skull is one of the subject for still life. It is called "vanitas" meaning "emptiness", and explains the meaningless lives of people spent on earth.     

      The work of the famous French-Baroque painter Philippe de Champaigne is one of many still lifes that has a skull. He emphasizes it by putting it between  two other things , a lily and hourglass.
 
          The painting reminds us that all things have its ends, the lily simply symbolizes  resurrection or after life. The hourglass depicts the time we spent with our lives or the journey to our death, good or bad.     The three subjects are related to one another when you put them together, it's just the painting is telling us that we have to make our lives useful because time is limited, we can no longer experience how to be contented and happy.

      De Champaigne used oil on panel as a medium for the painting.

     There also have been a painting of skulls and no other things combined to it, like the work of another French painter, Paul Cézanne, he only used skulls as  subject and add some drama on it like he stacked the four skulls and make it look more gloomy, reminding again our death.

Cézanne used oil on canvas for the artwork.

    

Inspiring Work of art

       My eyes caught the  garden of our front yard. It is a kind of palm garden because of the palm that was planted by my grand aunt years ago. The palm was surrounded by peanut plants crawling, and there are young palm growing besides it. At the back is a cozy cottage built to add a farm-like feature. There are bottles of beer planted ,surrounding the peanut plant in a triangle shape. The palm in the upper left side is the oldest because it is the tallest among them.

      This is actually my first sketch and I used pencil, a little rub of graphite from my finger to darken the shadowy areas for this artwork.

     It inspired me to draw it because of the leaves, they grow one to two times a year, and even many typhoons hit our front yard still they stand like nothing happened, it's like the plants are telling me to sketch them because they look so strong even they grow only an inch every year.

     One of the plant has been sold to make palm oil.

Choosing the Subject for your still life artwork

    You can use the standard subject for Still Life drawing, inanimate objects like fruits in a bowl, flowers on vases, food on table, books, drinking glasses etc. It was ancient times.

     Why don't we try using pieces of technology for the subject?, Cellphones, tablets, Computers or laptops, etc. Since we are now living in a modern world.

     Or try to put Orange and a cigarette together on a table and start drawing it. It's not a good combination but it's cool. Orange symbolizes health and the Cigarette is a deadly symbol for cancer or other lung diseases.

      Experiment with other things that looks weird when you put them together, draw it with passion, and it must have symbolism, a deeper explanation, and there must be a meaning for each object.

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Still life Art: An introduction

     Still Life masterpieces has been created by famous artists since Middle Age and Ancient Greek/Roman. Still lifes are mostly about inanimate objects like fruits and vegetables, flowers on a vase and plants, books, and kitchen wares and so on.

      Even Egyptians in ancient times adorned their tombs by Still Life paintings of because they believed that when they die, the painting will become real in the afterlife. And ancient Greeks and Romans painted their vases that depicts animals and objects.

      Flowers and Food symbolizes the Five senses and seasons during the 16th century in Rome. Skull symbolizes mortality and earthly remains for the Ancient Romans.

     One of the most famous Still life is the "Bread and Fruit Dish on a table" by Pablo Picasso during 1909 which has the subject of food. Pablo Picasso Probably painted this because of the combination of fruit and bread on a table, which is uncommon during that time.

      Modern Still Life arts today breaks the two dimensional barrier and uses modern mediums like computer applications and camera for still image photography.

Why I am passionate about Still Life drawing?

     I began to love Still Life drawing when I tried to draw our front yard garden from our house, looking only through the front door. After I finished the sketch, I realized that I love to do it again, aside from the fact that I inherited the skill from my father.

      Another thing that made me passionate about Still life drawing is when I saw the works of the famous Leonardo da Vinci. His way of sketching and painting,  it's different from other artists I have known.

    Whenever I hold a pencil in my hand, I'm looking for a paper to draw anything that catches my eye. Still Life drawing describes my feelings and thoughts, It sets up my mood, It has a unique meaning for every piece.