If you’ve been wanting to dive into painting, but don’t know how to begin then join Katie Liddiard as she shows you how to paint a still life. A still life is a great way to immerse yourself in painting because they can be very personal to the artist, can be set up just about anywhere, and, because they don’t move, can be studied for an extended amount of time- perfect for a beginner, or even master, painter.
Katie will show you all the materials she used for her still life, how- and why- she set up this particular still life and take you through step by step from first strokes to completion. She breaks down just how easy, if time consuming, painting a still life can be when approached properly.
Follow along with Katie as she demonstrates how to get the drawing- the proportions, gesture, and placement- of the objects on a blank canvas before moving on to developing the initial masses of color and values determined by the light direction and materials of the objects. Then she continues to develop the colors and values more accurately by building the “impression” (the flattened image that focuses on the unity of the piece) before finishing it off to add little unique varieties within the objects that add dimension and depth to the piece. Keeping the approach simple with easy-to-follow stages ensures that you don’t get lost within the overwhelming information of the still life objects that you are representing on canvas and are able to focus on the painting as a whole instead.
So grab your materials and don’t be shy to set up a still life for yourself today. Soon you’ll have a painting that you’ll be proud of because it is meaningful to you.
Class Sessions
Intro And Supplies
9:27
Before we begin, we need to get the materials together that we’ll need to start painting a still life. Join Katie Liddiard as she goes through all the supplies she used to create her piece.
First, she covers the brushes that she prefers to use. Katie likes synthetic mongoose filbert brushes over natural hairbrushes because of the softness they provide the painting, and the sturdiness they offer for longevity wear. Filbert brushes as a shape also are a bit softer of a stroke than a flat brush would be which is helpful in blending and more subtle transitions.
Now, while every palette is going to be different, Katie goes into detail about the pigments she prefers to have on hers and why. A palette is always somewhat in flux in terms of the needs of the painting and how well each pigment mixes with the others. Even long-standing pigments can be scraped for another one that performs better. Her palette leads with white moves into her darks, and she likes to separate her warms and cools.
And of course we need a canvas to paint on. Katie has pre toned her portrait grade linen canvas and made sure that it is thoroughly dried before beginning the painting on it. Otherwise, the tone will mix with the layers that will be painted on top of it. Be sure to cover the canvas entirely because this step is meant to cover the white of the canvas in case there happen to be any areas left in the finished piece that were not painted over. As you are pre toning your canvas, consider what the overall color tone of your still life is and try using that as the undertone. It’s an easy way to quickly have a unifying factor in your piece.
Okay, we have all the materials we need to get going, let’s get ready for the next stage!
Setup
4:21
Before we can dive into the painting, Katie wanted to talk about how she likes to set up her painting space. She uses her travel painting kit mostly in the studio as well as for travel because of its convenience to hold her palette while being compact. All her supplies are at her fingertips for easy access. This ensures that her focus can stay on the painting instead of constantly being distracted to look for whatever she may need in the moment.
Now she gets into what her still life is all about and why it is personal to her. Pouring yourself into your choice of objects and composition is a great way to make sure that you will be fully engaged to study it thoroughly for an extended period.
Once you’ve got everything set up let’s get to actually painting.
Start Painting
20:00
Let’s get started! Still life painting is a great way to take your time to study not only the objects in front of you, but also how to paint. Because you don’t have to get an exact likeness of the objects- unlike portraiture- you are far freer to explore different methods of approach and really take the time to expand your observational skills. So as long as you don’t have anything set up with a shelf life, you can come back to your set up again and again.
Using an inky mixture that will be easy to see on the canvas Katie starts to draw the composition onto the canvas. The drawing consists of the gesture, placement, and proportion of the objects within the composition. Using an inky mixture makes broad lines easy to not only get down but to erase. Quick, general lines representing major points in the composition are laid down and corrected.
Though you’re not looking for anything exact at this point, do take your time to really assess and draw as accurately as possible. The more major drawing errors that can be corrected in the early stages, the stronger the final painting will be so don’t be afraid to take your time.
After the line drawing is down, Katie lays down a tone that separates the lights and shadows. Separating the terminator line takes the lines into masses which is what painting is all about, so you can assess your drawing even more accurately and correct any major issues that need to be addressed.
Make sure that you squint while you work with the masses because that will compress the information and values of your reference so that you don’t get lost in the details.
Now, just go get a cup of coffee while you wait for the paint to dry, and you can move onto the next stage.
The Lay-In
23:00
Now that our drawing is dry, we need to start making color decisions. Katie’s painting is mostly warm copper and cool greenish blue tones. So, she mixes two piles based on those observations, one warm and one cool. With a large brush she can make the mixture inky with mineral spirits to quickly lay the colors down. She looks for objects with similar colors and lays those in. The values and colors are not perfect in this stage and that is perfectly normal and fine because those inaccuracies can be addressed as more information and context is developed in the next stage. With slight variations to the original mixture piles she can get the canvas covered with quick washes while maintaining color unity because all of the colors were derived from the same principal color mix.
The main goal in the initial wash phase is to cover the canvas with the local colors of the composition.
Again, don’t get caught up in the details while working. Keeping things simple for the time being makes sure that the structure of the painting is solid before adding details.
The still life is starting to really look like the reference. The objects are not completely in focus, yet, but the general idea of what they are and their relationships to the rest of the objects within the composition is becoming clearer. This is exactly where we want to be at the end of this stage before allowing it to dry overnight and moving onto building the impression on top of the lay in.
The Impression
50:00
After taking some time away from the lay in as it dried you may find that you come back to your painting with fresh eyes and are able to evaluate it more accurately. Before you jump back in you may want to quickly oil it out, being careful to only have the smallest amount of oil on the canvas to paint into.
Now, with the same piles that she mixed in the previous stage, Katie is ready to get going on the impression. This is where she starts to really use more paint and build up more accurate shapes and nuanced colors within the structures that she had previously laid down. The light direction is always kept in mind as the masses are developed because that determines the color and value of the individual parts within the composition.
She continues to work around the canvas, starting to really hone in on the shapes and colors. This layer will be seen in the final painting unlike the previous layer, so really take your time to develop it properly. Once she feels like she got as much as she could out of the large brushes, she moves onto the smaller brushes to get into smaller, more accurate shapes. She is now able to define edges and shapes that the larger brush wouldn’t allow for. This stage may take several days to fully develop, don’t rush it. The more you allow yourself to be immersed in building the impression the more you’ll get a sense of depth, solidity, and unity as you really define each object’s varying shape and colors, and values. And the more layers you develop, the more light plays within those layers and adds to the overall experience of viewing the painting.
Once you have a solid understanding of the specific drawing of the objects, with the intricate shapes carved out of the larger general shapes, and the specific value and color shifts as well, you’ve got your impression and you’re ready to move on to the final finishing stage.
The Finish
43:00
Our impression is set, our painting has really taken shape, but it’s not done yet. Let's take it to the next level and start to pull out some beautiful form to make the still life feel like real, solid objects. This is when Katie likes to pull out the smallest brushes as well as the extremes of color and values. Up to this point the values have been closer to the middle tones, avoiding the bright brights and dark darks as they would have been out of place without having developed the harmonies that the impression offered. Now, to bring as much depth to the painting as possible, those lights and darks will be introduced, sparingly and purposefully. You want interest and variation without becoming chaotic.
Smaller color variations can also be addressed with the smaller brushes, focusing only on areas that need to be altered instead of painting over the whole piece.
Using your oil medium to glaze color over areas is a great way to create unity quickly in an otherwise noisy passage.
Katie brings objects in front of or behind each other, creating the depth with slight variations on top of the impression. How much you want to break down the shapes is entirely up to you, but if you go far enough with proper observation you will be able to get to a photorealistic piece.
So don’t be afraid to tackle your own still life, just be patient and honest with yourself as you take your time through each stage, and you’ll be sure to have a painting that is meaningful in the end.
Your Instructor
Katie Liddiard
Katie J. Liddiard was born in Logan, Utah in 1984. She attended Snow College in Ephraim, Utah and afterward attended the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. When the Masters Academy of Art opened up closer to her home in Springville, Utah she finished her studies there. Upon graduating she became the Assistant Director of the Masters Academy where she guided students to become self-sustaining artists. After having served in that capacity for several years, she decided to focus on her own work and now paints in her home studio in Spanish Fork, Utah.
Bonus Material
Painting a Still Life - Resources
Bonus Materials available for download after purchase.
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