de Youngsters Studio: Finding Still Lifes

By Raphael Noz, senior teaching artist

De Youngsters Finding Still Lifes

Let’s look for still lifes as they exist in our homes. We don’t have to arrange something fancy; just construct a simple viewfinder, or frame, to help see small compositions isolated from their surrounding visual clutter. Inspired by Paul Wonner’s Still Life with Fruit and Flowers (1993), we’ll work from images we capture on our phones to compose a drawing or painting.

Materials

  • Cardstock or thin cardboard (enough to allow about a 2-in. border around a smartphone)
  • Scissors
  • Phone 
  • Pencil
  • Drawing paper
  • Crayons, pastels, or watercolors

Questions to Consider 

Do you think using the viewfinder will help you see things around you differently?
What do you think will make a good still life?

Steps

1. To create the viewfinder, use a sheet of cardstock or cut one side of a cereal box.

2. Trace the outline of your phone in the center of the cardstock or cardboard.

3. Cut out the shape. (Tip: bend the sheet or board to start your cut in the middle.)

4. Holding your new viewfinder out in front of your phone, scan your home for pleasing compositions. The viewfinder will help frame things you already have lying around so you can focus and find a still life.

5. Once you find a still life you like, try moving the viewfinder closer or farther from your phone to get the best composition. Take a photo. You can also try taking a picture from above, from the side and from a different angle. 

6. Finally, review all the photos you have taken with the help of your viewfinder, and choose a favorite composition to draw or paint. 

Reflect  

After creating your still life, consider the following questions: 

  • Did you find a composition surprisingly better than expected?
  • How did the lighting or colors influence your still life?
  • Did you experiment with taking photos of a composition from different angles? What angle was your favorite? 

Share

We would love to see what you create! Email pictures of your artwork to families@famsf.org or tag us on any social platform with #deyoungsters.

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