Quick Tip 330 - A Simple Still Life

[@rc-hr5uz]

You’re the best Diane! Love your tips and your channel.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks!

[@WomanInLabor]

Your videos are such a joy and education to watch. I truly appreciate you.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks, Emilia, and thanks for watching.

[@alkasarin1073]

Dianne excellent Quick Tip...you make things simpler to move forward

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks, Alka.

[@lauraorem1276]

As always, clear and specific. Thank you!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

You bet!

[@MonicaJamesFineArt]

Dianne, I so appreciate how you demystify topics that other teachers seem to want to complicate! You give me courage!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thank you, Monica. I think my desire to do so probably stems from my own experience with teachers who made the painting process so esoteric.

[@karenwhite4539]

Hi! To save money I just use a box or even a Pizza box to create the background and the table top all in one. Using a moving box just cut it open on one of the side seams and unfold. You can then place this on any surface ( I use a pile of plastic file boxes). i have the file boxes in a corner and when you place the open box you have a back ground and a table top. I then just drape any old fabric or any material over the box and let it cascade down over the table top portion of the box. Super easy with a clean Pizza box, open, place on your stand and you immediately have a background and foreground or table top surface.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks for that tip, Karen.

[@marlenemeek9030]

You really have to be careful about choosing the right teacher. You are always reliable when it comes to leading without telling your students what to do. You have never let me down! You are the real deal!

[@richiejourney1840]

Uh…she *teaches* in every video…that’s “telling you what to do”. She *just* told you what to do if someone advises you to invest in more expensive still life “stages” but you can’t afford it. Please don’t cut down other teachers who have their own ways and you go and study under them.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Ooooooo Marlene and Richie, this is getting testy. I hope just help you think things through, to explore options.

[@jeanniewright970]

Thank you, Diane! I enjoy all your tips and am enjoying the newsletter and the classes I purchased. So glad I found you and thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks, Jeannie.

[@ArtBSP]

Thank you so much for all of your incredibly helpful videos!! 😊

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

You bet. Thanks for watching.

[@almaleal1511]

THANK YOU DIANE.! YOU ARE A GREAT TEACHER!! GREETINGS FROM MEXICO...!!!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks, Alma. It's a pleasure to share these.

[@louielouie4187]

I agree, qiang huang / Richard RIP are my favorite, great video you are Amazing your self one of my favorites thanks for all you do your videos will live for ages to come❤

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks so much.

[@jillrobbins4488]

Another wonderful video! Every time I watch one of your videos I feel armed to take up another subject of painting I wouldn’t ordinarily try. I feel ready to practice and internalize these new skills. Thank you once more!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Enjoy the journey.

[@susannerauch8237]

I agree. Her videos are fabulous and really help to prepare and encourage one to try new things or improve on what one is already doing. My only complaint (just joking here) is that she has made so many wonderful videos available I can spend hours watching and learning and forget to paint. LOL. I've watched many, many art videos on KZbin, and I think Dianne is really the best.

[@1sacoyle]

Items for still life painting can be anything around the house or start visiting your local thrift stores. Beware: Very easy to get addicted to buying objects for potential still life paintings.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks for the tips!

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

I recently noticed that in my living room.....whenever I open curtains in the morning...sunlight falls in...cast highlights and shadows exactly on the same areas of our huge wall clock...that shadows tell me the light even without looking at the needles in the clock! It's so amazing...same time we hear birds cooing everyday...I feel that nature has a clock too. Other day I removed the clock from wall...saw the highlights on the wall...same place...I could tell the time...maybe silly but was fun😅😅

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Not silly at all but a keen observation and the stuff from which art evolves.

[@WhittleDude]

Very keen observation. I've noticed I see things with a different perspective now as an artist. Object are more interesting and colorful throughout the day, rocks aren't all round and grey and light and shadows are everywhere. There are so many variations of colors. Even though a barn is painted the same color all around, light changes the way I see that color. Life is an adventure, and art has made it much more exciting.

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

To add on...I also think...there are many still life 'objects' waiting for us to paint in our nearby areas...like kitchen....car parking...grocery shop next to you...your pet sleeping...mid afternoon light on your indoor plants ...your interior decor....your street at night in front of your window etc

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Great point!

[@Jacksbox11]

Thanks, Dianne!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

You bet.

[@generations-now]

I just finished one still life and I’m starting another. I advised anyone is to just gather some objects that you love or have special meaning to you or you have a section for and place them into your background area and start playing with them and see what you like.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks for that Tip, Generations Now.

[@muhlenstedt]

The last book by Richard Schmid is about Still Life .Thank you very much, I am into still life painting now and this was very useful.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Enjoy the journey.

[@aasimrashid3303]

I am speechless I can only say you're the best teacher👍👍👍 . One request could you please make the playlist of all videos in sequence that will be your most graciousness😊

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Already done! Go to the channel page at kzbin.info , click on Community in the menu, then cursor down to the post that begins "This update will show what to look forwards to in 2021." Also, on the channel page, if you click on Videos in the menu, you will find them all listed from the most recent to the earliest.

[@chayita7]

Dianne, Would you suggest a swing arm lamp as an all-purpose lamp for painting? I often paint, at night, landscape scenes from photographs (which I use as a springboard for my own ideas). Or is diffused light necessary, as you point out in your Quick Tip on lighting? If the lamp is set at its tallest height could that be considered "diffused light?" Thanks again and again, Carol.

[@GalleryBry]

Direct light can be used but diffuse light avoids the most glare and reflections on your painting. I use a lamp on an arm and turn it around to face my white wall to get diffuse light. But you can use it direct too if you place it at a 45 degree angle to your canvas. This will limit some of the glare and reflections. I also use light boxes to photograph work. Both work well. It all depends on how much room you have in your studio and how you can set up the lights. Keeping the lights at a distance will soften the light a bit as well. Have any other lighting questions? :)

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Chaya, if your space is limited, it depends upon the kind of swing arm lamp you use. There are those available with diffused light. And there are many creative ways to create good lighting. Aim for avoiding hot spots on your canvas and palette. Diffused means that light rays are broken up - scattered - evenly. Direct rays tend to hit strongly in the center and splay outward, but when diffused, they scatter more evenly. A translucent filter will diffused as will bouncing the rays off a white surface .If you don't have a way of bouncing the light on a white surface, then find a way to filter the rays. A filter can be made from white translucent plastic or even a white large handkerchief.

[@chayita7]

@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Thanks, as always, Dianne, for bringing light to my dilemmas. And not making light of my questions...

[@dtaverner834]

Thanks for the tips I always learn so much. Would it be possible to have some tips on painting in cold wax and abstraction?

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

I don't have a lot of experience painting in cold wax, so it would be presumptuous of me to do a Quick Tip about it. About abstraction, take a look at Quick Tips 166 and 261.

[@richiejourney1840]

Wonderful idea’s to get by with. I know of master still life artists who set up and only paint-over several sessions-in certain day light at specific hour(s), yet I have also heard them complain of this issue (Setting up that way would be helpful for sure for plein-air training). So…could you explain to us WHY these other master still life artists-who are not plein-air artists-tell us we should invest (if we can and are totally serious about the work) in such lighting and “stages”?

[@GalleryBry]

Lighting gives you more time slots to paint. Natural light is great. Some people don’t have the ability to paint during the day and can only paint at night. It’s also good for photographing work. Some days are cloudy and some days not. Lighting let’s you take reliable photos of your work at any hour. So lighting isn’t necessary but it’s a huge convenience. What do you think?

[@richiejourney1840]

@@GalleryBry absolutely spot on! It allows you to control your lighting environment.

[@GalleryBry]

@@richiejourney1840 yes indeed!!! Hope you are having a great day!!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Richie Journey and Gallery Bry - thanks for the conversation.

[@claudeduda3607]

Merci merci 👍

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure.

[@isabelrodriguezperez6000]

Díanne, I’ve become kind of addicted to your videos. They are so didactic! I am practically a beginner in this path and would really like to start a course with you or get a downloadable vídeo. Which one would you recommend to start with? Thanks a lot. Greetings from Spain

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Isabel, beginning with Series 1 is a good place to start. Enjoy the journey!

[@leinardesteves3987]

I'm not sure if you already answered it in one of your videos, but I got the tones and hues down of color theory (i think) when do we decide to make colors a lot more saturated than others?

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Generally speaking, you can look for color to be most highly saturated in the areas where light is hitting it. If it's a strong direct light, we lose saturation on planes directly in line with the light source.

[@richrobertson9457]

Hi Dianne. Slightly off topic question: If you paint an element in a landscape up close, such as a fire hydrant surrounded by some wildflowers for example, is it considered landscape or still life? Just curious....

[@marlenemeek9030]

That sounds like a question only a smart ass would ask. Ignor it, Dianne.

[@richiejourney1840]

Actually that’s a very interesting question. What defines a still life? A model poses…yet it is a Portrait not a still life. But I believe the definition of a still life are objects-man made and not man made-set up in a “stage” arrangement by the artist. This would make the fire hydrant a close up “portrait” in city scape? LOL. Just a guess.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Actually, Rich, it could be either, depending upon one's definition or "landscape" and "still life", I really don't pay much attention to those kinds of categorizing. Every time we categorize something, we limit it. I suppose categories serve the purpose of cataloging, but it always comes down to definition.

[@richrobertson9457]

@@IntheStudioArtInstruction I'm thinking if you were to lean a bicycle just so against the hydrant or place other objects strategically around it or otherwise manipulate the scene it would fall firmly into the realm of still life. By itself? Not so sure... But, as you say, not really important. Thanks, Dianne.

[@gaelhillyardcreative]

Hi Dianne, I am sorry to be a pest with all these comments but I wondered if you may be able to add rainbows to your list of future Quick Tips. They look one of the most difficult things to paint well but really easy to overdo. Many thanks.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Done! But because we film these weeks in advance, it will be towards the end of the year before it shows up on KZbin. Stay tuned.

[@gaelhillyardcreative]

@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Brilliant, thanks Dianne!

[@denver1525]

Hi I been watching your tips and I love it!! I’m just wondering if you advise me what to do to get my motivation. I wish, as a great experience teacher you can help me :) I totally lost, I’m not doing right proses with my paint after 25 years later;)

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Perhaps you might find helpful Quick Tip 134-Solving Artist Block.

[@denver1525]

Hi I’m very glade to gave my first steps to you to know my problem, I’m vary happy about it! But I feel I need your cooperation to do my progress, will you please help me to send me which lessons is good for me as a beginners ? So I can pick from their ! Also I need you website please..

[@robertjgross]

Where did you find the swing arm lamp on rollers?

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Actually, I inherited it. Here's a link to one similar to mine - massagechairportal.com/products/pibbs-magnifying-lamp-with-casters?currency=USD&Google%20Shopping&msclkid=32c282d0edfb1b3aaaeee2219e885ff8&C-1%20%7C%20Pibbs%20Magnifying%20Lamp%20with%20Casters%20%7C%20%24375

[@robertjgross]

@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Thanks unfortunately I think doesn't have use for a light bulb.

[@gaelhillyardcreative]

That lamp is a great idea. Hope you are doing well in the heatwave. Does not look fun.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks, Gael. We've not been affected by the heat wave in our part of North Georgia, but we always keep our fingers crossed.

[@gaelhillyardcreative]

@@IntheStudioArtInstruction That's really good to hear. Hope you manage to avoid it.

[@bradad2026]

Very helpful. Thank you. I find still life paintings inspirational, especially if they are the quality done by Daniel Sprick.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

And don't forget Richard Schmid as well.