Having used paint and color in theoretical ways for the past few weeks, today we used them for a more traditional purpose- a color still life painting. After showing several slides of still life paintings from the Renaissance to the present, and discussing the purpose of still life paintings for artists and viewers then and now, I set up a still life and had the class paint it.
How to make this up- Set up a colorful still life. Put a small/medium box on a table in a well lit room and drape with a multicolored cloth. Arrange 4 solidly colored objects (each a different color from the others and the cloth) on and around the box. Produce a full color painting of the still life, paying attention to shapes, proportions, spacing, perspective, and value, but this time also trying to match colors as closely as possible. You may sketch it first with pencil or paint the set up directly with your brush. Spend about 4 hours on it. Student examples from previous semesters can be seen above and below.
This is a portfolio exercise and must be made up by the end of the semester to receive full credit.
