Dynamic Still Life for Artists: A Modern Guide to Essential Concepts and Techniques
In Dynamic Still Life for Artists, noted artist and instructor Sarah Sedwick presents detailed, step-by-step instruction and insights on the many creative possibilities that drawing and painting still lifes can offer.

  • Develop observational skills by setting up and assessing various arrangements, groupings, and formats.
  • Evaluate an arrangement’s abstract shapes by creating black-and-white value studies.
  • Learn the process of alla prima painting, from underpainting to color mixing to applying color.


Featuring inspiring examples by other distinguished artists working in a variety of mediums, DynamicStill Life for Artists will encourage all artists, from aspiring to accomplished, to explore this timeless genre through new arrangements, styles, and visual studies, empowering them to develop and expand their creative and technical skills.

The For Artists series expertly guides and instructs artists at all skill levels who want to develop their classical drawing and painting skills and create realistic and representational art.

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Dynamic Still Life for Artists: A Modern Guide to Essential Concepts and Techniques
In Dynamic Still Life for Artists, noted artist and instructor Sarah Sedwick presents detailed, step-by-step instruction and insights on the many creative possibilities that drawing and painting still lifes can offer.

  • Develop observational skills by setting up and assessing various arrangements, groupings, and formats.
  • Evaluate an arrangement’s abstract shapes by creating black-and-white value studies.
  • Learn the process of alla prima painting, from underpainting to color mixing to applying color.


Featuring inspiring examples by other distinguished artists working in a variety of mediums, DynamicStill Life for Artists will encourage all artists, from aspiring to accomplished, to explore this timeless genre through new arrangements, styles, and visual studies, empowering them to develop and expand their creative and technical skills.

The For Artists series expertly guides and instructs artists at all skill levels who want to develop their classical drawing and painting skills and create realistic and representational art.

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Dynamic Still Life for Artists: A Modern Guide to Essential Concepts and Techniques

Dynamic Still Life for Artists: A Modern Guide to Essential Concepts and Techniques

by Sarah Sedwick
Dynamic Still Life for Artists: A Modern Guide to Essential Concepts and Techniques

Dynamic Still Life for Artists: A Modern Guide to Essential Concepts and Techniques

by Sarah Sedwick

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$26.99 
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Overview

In Dynamic Still Life for Artists, noted artist and instructor Sarah Sedwick presents detailed, step-by-step instruction and insights on the many creative possibilities that drawing and painting still lifes can offer.

  • Develop observational skills by setting up and assessing various arrangements, groupings, and formats.
  • Evaluate an arrangement’s abstract shapes by creating black-and-white value studies.
  • Learn the process of alla prima painting, from underpainting to color mixing to applying color.


Featuring inspiring examples by other distinguished artists working in a variety of mediums, DynamicStill Life for Artists will encourage all artists, from aspiring to accomplished, to explore this timeless genre through new arrangements, styles, and visual studies, empowering them to develop and expand their creative and technical skills.

The For Artists series expertly guides and instructs artists at all skill levels who want to develop their classical drawing and painting skills and create realistic and representational art.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780760377000
Publisher: Rockport Publishers
Publication date: 11/15/2022
Series: For Artists Series , #7
Pages: 160
Product dimensions: 8.40(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Sarah Sedwick began painting in oils at age ten. In 2001, she earned a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art with a focus on illustration and painting and a minor degree in art history. Her work focuses mainly on still life and portraiture, painting from direct observation. Teaching is an integral part of her creative work. She teaches still life and portrait painting workshops around the United States and internationally, as well as through an online art mentorship program. Sarah is represented by Tvedten Fine Art in Harbor Springs, Michigan. She makes her home in Eugene, Oregon. To learn more about Sarah and her work, visit her website sarahsedwick.com, on YouTube at Sarah Sedwick, and on Instagram and Facebook @sedwickstudio.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Welcome to Dynamic Still Life for Artists 8

Why Still Life? 8

My Art Journey 12

Your Art Journey 14

1 Painting Spaces and Studios 17

Different Artists, Different Spaces 18

Studio Setup for Still Life: The Basics 21

Materials and Tools: The Must-Have and the Good-to-Have 25

Paint Choices and Palette Layout 28

Studio Lighting 30

2 What to Paint? Setting Up a Still Life that "Clicks" 33

Diving into Still Life 34

Still Life Setup: The Three Vs 40

Lighting Your Still Life 50

Subject Matter: Thinking Outside the Box 54

Borrowing Inspiration 60

Exercise: Experimenting with Still Life Setup and Lighting 62

3 Planning Your Dynamic Still Life: Composition and Value Studies 65

Preparation Pays Off 66

Composition: What Is It and Why Does It Matter? 68

Using a Viewfinder 70

Contrast: The Key to Creating a Focal Point 73

Thumbnail Sketches 74

Exercise: One Still Life, Three Formats: Creating Thumbnail Sketches 78

Format First, Then Size and Scale 81

Value Studies: A Solid Foundation 83

A Hierarchy of Values: Highlights and Dark Accents 94

Exercise: Creating a Value Study in Black and White Oils 96

4 Painting Your Dynamic Still Life: Alla Prima in Three Steps 103

Step 1: Underpainting 104

Step 2: Color Mixing 112

Step 3: Applying Color 115

Paint Outside the Box: Alternative Materials 125

Battling Overwhelm: Breaking the Process into "Bites" 128

No "Bad" Painting Days 129

Exercise: The Three-Step Still Life 130

5 Your Art Journey Continues 135

Momentum: The Most Important Thing 136

Jump-Starting Momentum 140

Comparison Is the Thief of Joy 144

Finding Friends and Mentors 146

6 Conclusion: Your Unique Artistic Fingerprint 149

Resources 153

Acknowledgments 154

About the Author 155

Index 156

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