Teaching Students How to Compose a Still Life
Art Lesson Plan on Composing Objects for Painting in Oil Colours
Sep 9, 2009
The most accomplished oil painting techniques will not save a still life study if the objects within are badly composed. Students in art therefore need to know how to compose a still life if an effective painting is to result.
Resources for Art Activity in Class
The following items will be required for the art lesson:
- Samples of oil paintings depicting a still life setting.
- Examples of poorly composed still life paintings or photographs
- Sets of three contrasting objects. A jug, a piece of cutlery and a plump fruit serve as good examples
- A lamp
- Pencils and paper
The teacher may begin the lesson by showing examples of still life oil paintings that have been composed effectively and those, which appear out of balance.
Student Evaluation of Oil Paintings in Art Class
The students may evaluate each painting in the effectiveness of the arrangement of the objects. Artists such as Chardin and Cezanne spent hours setting up their still life objects before painting them. In similar fashion, the students may question why some still life paintings work and why some don’t. This encourages independent thinking and exploration.
Activity Lesson for Art Students
After evaluating the images, the students may engage in a practical exercise where the teacher provides three contrasting objects. The students may then arrange the objects to the best of their ability. The following questions could be asked:
- How is the background shapes affected by shifting the objects around? The background shapes are known as “negative space.” The objects themselves are the “positive shapes.”
- What happens when the light source is changed around? How does it affect the shape of the shadows, the tones of the objects and the overall mood of the setting?
- How much “breathing space” does each object require? How is the composition affected by shifting the objects close together or further apart?
- What happens to the composition when viewed from different vantage points, such as from left to right, or looking up or down upon the setting?
- Look for echoes of contours. Is a similar contour found for example on the edge of a spoon and on the edge of a jug?
- What happens when the colours of the objects are shifted around? How does colour juxtaposition affect the setting?
- Are there any reflections or residual light bouncing from one object to another? Such secondary light is known as “reflected light.”
The Fine Art of Composition in Painting
The students will discover for themselves the art of composing a still life study by trial and error. The following points may reinforce the lesson for the students.
- Balancing the negative and positive space within a setting results in a better composition
- Awareness of where shadows fall will guard against shadows falling off the edge of the composition unless this is by design
- Awareness of breathing space around the objects will guard against a cramped-looking composition or that of too much space within one area
- Examining the still life arrangement from different vantage points provides possibilities for interesting or unusual compositions
- Juxtaposition of contrasting colours often creates focal points within the setting
- Looking for repetitions in contours and using them strategically will create rhythm within the still life
- Providing opportunities for reflections and reflected light adds dimension and mood to the painting
Strategy for Teaching Still Life Painting for Learners
Composing a still life study is an art in itself. By raising students’ awareness in matters such as the negative space, the light source, the vantage point and juxtaposition of colour will provide a firm foundation on which to build a still life painting.
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