Decorative still life. Methodology for completing tasks in an art school

A black and white still life can be painted in a variety of ways. It can look like a standard pencil sketch or an interesting illustration of spots or letters. Today we will talk about different techniques that you can easily repeat at home.

Spotted pattern

Black and white still life is most often done decorative. Why? Yes, because he looks so good. A realistic image, devoid of color, may look appropriate if it is a portrait, illustration, or something similar, with many details. A realistic still life is not very interesting to consider. Therefore, many artists prefer decorative works. Still life black and white is drawn very simply. First you need to build a composition. You can draw from nature, which will be easier, or come up with a setting in your imagination. In our case, there is a jug and a bowl of apples on the table. A bow and drapery hang on the wall. When all this has been found a suitable place on the sheet, and the details have been worked out, you can proceed to dividing the objects into parts. Moreover, this should be done not in a chaotic manner, but clearly thinking through so that the white parts are adjacent to the black ones and not one of the objects is lost.

line drawing

Still life black and white can be painted in various techniques. One of them is the image of a drawing using lines. To draw such a picture, you need to take objects that have a clearly defined texture. If this is not the case, then the relief will have to be invented. You need to start drawing a black and white still life by building a composition. First, we outline all the items. In our case, this is a mug with flowers, apples and a wooden table. After all the items have taken their place, we begin to work out the shape, and then the details. The final action is the image of the invoice. The mug acquires horizontal stripes, flowers and apples - a cut-off border. Be sure to show the texture of the table. It is advisable to combine horizontal and vertical lines in a still life so that the objects do not merge, but stand out against each other.

Drawing from letters

This image will look like a black and white graphic. The still life consists of letters that smoothly turn into words and even sentences. How to draw such an original decorative composition? First you need to draw a sketch. Outline the cup and the newspaper that will lie in the background. After that, you need to divide the drawing by tones. For example, coffee in a mug should be the most saturated in tone, the second place is occupied by a falling shadow, and the third is your own. Thus, it is possible to divide the entire sketch with lines. After that, if you are confident in your abilities, you can paint over the drawing with a gel pen, and if you are worried that something will not work out, first make an underpainting of the letters with a pencil. True, in this case, the letters will have to be circled with ink. The gel pen does not draw well with a pencil. The letters should be superimposed according to the shape of the objects. And be sure to play with height and width. One word may be very narrow, and another two or three times as large. You can encrypt some phrases in such a picture, or you can write arbitrary words.

The word "still life" comes from the French phrase "nature morte" and means mortified or dead nature. But it seems to me that the essence of this art form is better conveyed by the English expression "still life" - "still, frozen life." Indeed, at its core, a still life is nothing more than a captured piece of life.

Collecting material for this article, I encountered certain difficulties. At first glance, shooting a still life is easy. Put a cup on the table, added some details to it, set the light and click the shutter for yourself. Photo models are always at hand, unlimited time for shooting. Convenient and minimal cost. That is why novice photographers love this genre so much. And some achieve very interesting results. Go to any photographic site, select the appropriate section and admire really chic pictures. But time passes, and many questions arise: "Why shoot this? Who needs it? What will I get from this?" Unable to find answers to these questions, many switch to wedding, baby or animal photography, which provide some income. Still life does not enjoy special respect among the masters of photography. This is not a profitable business. If anything can bring, it is only aesthetic satisfaction. And they shoot still lifes from time to time, so to speak, to hone their skills.

But there are a few who see in a still life, something more than just a beautiful picture. It is to these masters of still life that I dedicate my article.

I admit, at first I wanted to make a selection of works by photographers that I like and who rightfully occupy the first places in the ratings on various photography sites. And then the question arose: "why?" Everyone knows how to use the Internet, most of them have studied photo sites more than once, they are familiar with the best works, and information about the photographer they are interested in can always be found using a search engine. I decided to tell you about Special Photographers - those whose work turns the recognized canons upside down, who really brought something new to still life photography, who managed to see something extraordinary in ordinary things. You can relate to their work in different ways: admire or, conversely, not accept. But, definitely, their work cannot leave anyone indifferent.

1. Cara Barer

Kara Barer (1956), a photographer from the USA, chose one subject for shooting - a book. Transforming it, she creates amazing book sculptures, which she photographs. You can look at her photos endlessly. After all, each such book sculpture has a certain meaning, and ambiguous.

2. Guido Mocafico

The Swiss photographer Guido Mocafico (1962) is not limited to one subject in his work. He is interested in different things.

But even taking a single item, he gets amazing work. Famous for his series "Movement" ("Movement"). It seems that the clock mechanisms are simply taken, but each, if you look closely, has its own character.

In still lifes, as you know, "inanimate nature" is removed. In his "Snakes" series, Guido Mocafico broke this rule and took a living creature as the subject of a still life. Coiled snakes create an amazing, bright and unique picture.

But the photographer also creates traditional still lifes, shooting them in the Dutch style, and using truly "inanimate objects" as props.

3. Carl Kleiner

Swedish photographer Karl Kleiner (1983) uses the most ordinary objects for his still lifes, composing them into bizarre pictures. Photographs by Karl Kleiner are colorful, graphic and experimental. His imagination is boundless, he uses completely different materials, from paper to eggs. Everything, as they say, goes to work.

4. Charles Grogg

Still lifes by American Charles Grogg are made in black and white. The photographer for shooting also uses ordinary household items that are available in every home. But experimenting with their arrangement and combining them in unusual combinations, the photographer creates truly fantastic pictures.

5. Chema Madoz

I am sure that the work of Chem Madoz (1958), a photographer from Spain, is familiar to many. His black and white still lifes, executed in a surrealistic style, leave no one indifferent. The photographer's unique view of ordinary things is admirable. Madoza's works are full of not only humor, but also deep philosophical meaning.
The photographer himself says that his photographs are made without any digital processing.

6. Martin Klimas

In the works of Martin Klimas (1971), a photographer from Germany, there is also no photoshop. Only a short, or rather, super-short, shutter speed. His specially developed technique allows you to capture a unique moment that the human eye cannot even see. Martin Klimas shoots his still lifes in complete darkness. With the help of a special device, at the moment of breaking an object, a flash is turned on for a fraction of a second. And the camera captures the Miracle. Here you have just a vase with flowers!

7. John Chervinsky

American John Chervinsky (1961) - a scientist working in the field of applied physics. And his still lifes are a mixture of science and art. Here you won’t understand: either a still life, or a textbook on physics. When creating his still lifes, John Chervinsky uses the laws of physics, getting an incredibly interesting result.

8. Daniel Gordon

Daniel Gordon (1980), American photographer, not concerned with scientific issues. When photographing still lifes, he chose a different path. It prints color pictures downloaded from the Internet on a printer, crumples these pieces of paper, and then wraps various objects in them. It turns out something like paper sculptures. Bright, beautiful, original.

9. Andrew B. Myers

Still lifes by Andrew Myers (1987), a photographer from Canada, cannot be confused with any others - they are always recognizable. A simple gentle, calm background, a lot of empty space, which creates a feeling of fullness of the image with light and air. Most often, to create still lifes, he uses objects from the 70s and 80s. His works are graphic, stylish and evoke a certain nostalgia.

10. Regina DeLuiseRegina DeLuise

Regina DeLuise (1959), a photographer from the USA, does not use SLR to create her work. She chose another way - she prints negatives from film on special rag paper. Her poetic imagery contains a wide range of tones and many textures. Still lifes are very tender and poetic. Amazing play of light and shadows.

11. Bohchang Koo

Bohchang Koo (1953), South Korean photographer, prefers white. The still lifes he created - white on white - are simply amazing. They are not only beautiful, but also carry a certain meaning - the preservation of ancient Korean culture. After all, the photographer specially travels the world, looking for objects of the cultural heritage of his country in museums.

12. Chen Wei

Chen Wei (1980), a Chinese photographer, on the other hand, finds inspiration for her work close to home. Featuring strange spaces, scenes, and objects, he uses props thrown into landfills by others.

13. Alejandra Laviada

Alejandra Laviada, a photographer from Mexico, uses ruined and abandoned buildings for her photographs, creating still lifes from objects found there. Her still lifes tell real stories about the people who lived in these buildings and used things left as unnecessary.

In our painting classes, special attention is paid to still lifes, made in decorative painting technique.

Decorative painting is a diverse and extensive topic. In the developed by our teachers, there is a series of lessons on the study of decorative techniques for working with paints. For examples, special still lifes have been prepared, on which you can clearly show various techniques and features of the decorative style.

The purpose of the task is a decorative still life.

• Learn to depict objects using the means of decorative painting.
• Master the skills of transforming, dividing and arranging flowers in shape.
• Try different decorative painting techniques.

There is a widespread belief that decorative pictorial styles do not fit into the academic curriculum and are contrary to basic pictorial rules. In fact, this is a deep misconception. All methods and principles of decorative style flow directly from the academic program and are its further development and the ongoing evolution of all academic art.

At first glance, simplistic modeling and the lack of a realistic image may present an incorrect image. The decorative execution of the work poses many other, more complex tasks.

Decorative painting involves a deep study of local color, the composition of color spots, the search for expressive accents and spectacular spatial solutions.

The artist is required to convey the image, the impression of a real model as clearly as possible, using a minimum of means. It is necessary to show the volume of the object, material, texture, without resorting to classical modeling. The value of the analysis of the shape of the object increases, it is necessary to select and model a stylized image, which transfers the object from a realistic image to the color plane.

In decorative painting, the line acquires more importance, which becomes a full-fledged participant in the picture and, along with color and tone, participates in the formation of the overall composition. Changing the thickness and expressiveness of the line more clearly emphasizes the volume and plasticity of the object.

Also, a great variety can bring a change in the shape and frequency of applying a stroke, which immediately turns the surface of the canvas into a decorative panel or mosaic.

At the first stage of acquaintance with the possibilities of decorative painting, we recommend painting a series of still lifes, since in still life it is possible to choose combinations of objects and fabrics in order to vividly demonstrate the techniques of decorative style.

Types of decorative still life.

There are several common techniques that have proven themselves in practice and in the learning process. The names are chosen conditionally, since in modern painting there is no clear, international classification of styles and uniform names.

Painting from scraps. All color combinations in this technology are depicted as separate segments, emphasizing the structure of objects and showing their most expressive properties. Pure colors and planar space mapping are often used.

Painting with a clearly defined outline. To enhance the form and color relationships, the so-called “stained glass method” is used, when all objects and points of refraction of the form are outlined with black or dark lines, creating clear outlines and boundaries between colors. Works made in this technique are very spectacular and bright.

Other decorative techniques are based on combinations of pure colors, various types of stroke changes, the use of a palette knife, wide brushes and other tools. The format of the article does not allow describing every technique and method of applying paint. You can learn more by visiting our classes.

Still life photographs are known to be quite common. Often, many photographers like to present their still lifes in black and white. To do this, you need to find objects, compare everyday objects in your environment, and also enhance the difference in textures and tones. Converting to black and white gives you a lot of options when viewing the photo itself.

Black and white still life allows you to focus on the lines of photography, textures and forms. In this case, it is much easier to focus on these elements, since there is no need to be distracted by colors. Good use of this technique will not only give a more objective image in terms of its integrity, but also increase the tension between different objects and materials. Such combinations can be found everywhere, for example, in the park, on the beach, etc. You can take pictures of any objects. In addition, you can photograph objects in pairs, or in larger numbers. It should be noted that it is not recommended to apply the same methods of converting a photo to black and white.

To create a black and white still life, you must have:

Students perform decorative still life in an art school according to the following methodology:

1. Arrangement of objects in a sheet.
2. Transformation (form stylization).
3. Overlay or braiding of silhouettes with each other.
4. Filling silhouettes with texture and decorative solutions.

As you know, a still life is a production of inanimate objects. In easel painting, still lifes are painted traditionally: they sculpt the volume of objects, convey chiaroscuro, linear and aerial perspective, space ... In a decorative still life, this becomes unimportant. The form of the depicted objects becomes flat and conditional. Chiaroscuro is absent. Instead, each silhouette is worked out decoratively.

On the transformation of the form you need to stop separately. Its essence lies in the transformation of the original form of the object into a conditional one. That is, the drawing is simplified, deprived of unnecessary details. The form is reduced to a conditionally geometric one, that is, it is based on simple geometric shapes (circle, rectangle, triangle ...). For example, a jug can be made up of a circle and a cylinder, and top and bottom can be completed with circles or ellipses. Thus, only the character of the object remains. He must be recognizable. And the contours will already be transformed and brought to a common style.

Overlapping or braiding silhouettes is a technique in decorative art and design. The imposition of silhouettes on each other is understandable by definition - this is when objects obscure each other and the image becomes, as it were, multi-layered. But the weaving is more complicated. For example, when part of the jug is obscured by an apple, the intersecting parts of the jug and the apple can be displayed by the artist in a completely different color. Objects become as if "transparent" and their intersecting parts are visible to the viewer. The silhouettes of objects are intertwined in such an intricate way that in the end, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish them. And this gives the decorative work a special appeal.

Filling the contours of objects with a texture- is not particularly difficult. You can spray paint, you can lay paint with chaotic strokes, etc. But filling the silhouette with a decorative solution is more difficult. The artist comes up with a kind of “ornament”, although this word is not quite suitable here. With this "ornament" he fills the silhouette. This “ornament” is created on the basis of the generatrix. A forming line is a line that forms the outline of an object. For example, the contour of a Greek amphora will be gracefully curved. Therefore, the interior decoration of the silhouette will be based on curved lines in a similar way. Separate parts of such decoration of objects, as well as the objects themselves, can be braided. Also, between them you can skip the literal ornament. Therefore, such decoration is not just filling silhouettes with only texture or coloring. This is a more complex process. But also more spectacular, on which the essence of a decorative still life is based.