Still Life Paintings – Giving Life to the Lifeless

There are around four major kinds of subject that an artist may choose to paint about. These are a) landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes; b) animals; c) portraits; and d) still lifes. Still life paintings are probably the most common to the young, budding artist.

Painting a group of inanimate objects in antique oil and rough canvass is something uncomplicated to do, and yet challenging as well. After all, what is so exciting about painting a group of lifeless objects arranged in an indoor setting, such as a bowl of fruit or coupling of floral vases?

Still Life Paintings – Challenging Your Creativity

Still lifes, despite the simplicity of their subjects, can be quite a challenge. The objective is to depict as realistically as possible the object being painted, but, at the same time, giving it some semblance of life.

Take for example Van Gogh's Bedroom at Arles; simply, it is a picture of a bedroom with a standard single bed, 2 chairs, picture frames, and a bed stand beside a closed window. The subject is inanimate but because of the style in which the painting was made, making use of a slightly distorted point of view of the bedroom, it brought to life a simple studio apartment.

In fact, it is considered one of the Dutch's most famous works. Another example of a great still life painting is Magritte's Young Love. It is just composed of 3 applies in different colors – blue, red & yellow. However, due to the use of color (who has ever seen a blue apple?), an ordinary fruit such as an apple has become vibrant, interesting. The placement also of the apples in a triangular formation has given the objects movement. Again, an inanimate object being given the stroke of existence.

The next time you look at a still life painting, consider looking beyond the object on it; consider the movement it makes and you'll see there is life even on a flat surface.