One of my other favorite still life arrangements was this piece namely because of the skull. I have had an affinity for skulls, maybe even death, since I was young and when our instructor put together this curation I was elated. We were to create another grayscale drawing from the observations of this setup studying light and shadows again to better refine our crafts.
During these studies our instructor would set up the arrangements ahead of time, sometimes lasting for multiple days or an entire week as we stood behind our easels for over 3 hours each class setting. We would stand and observe the items in each arrangement carefully studying the light and shadows to highlight the light and dark aspects of each object in order to create depth and realistic drawings on paper. The curated items in the arrangement were always eclectic finds that added some mystery to each still life. We used artists paper and chalks to produce grayscale images of our final drawing replicating the still life before it was disassembled.
The final chalk drawing came out quite well and I was especially pleased to notice my drawing was improving. These studies largely contributed to that in that we were almost forced to stand still and stare at these creations the entirety of 3 some hours. I was growing more confident with my use of chalk and beginning to improve my skills. This drawing is indicative of that and I still look back proudly on the finished product.
This still life arrangement was one of my favorites and absolutely because of the skull itself. I loved the strange combination of items displayed in this curation and they contrasted each shape in the composition well. The lasting result was a eye catching contrast between light and dark while subtly drawing you into the depth of the arrangement.
One foot deep in creative and one foot deep in the alpine. Designing solutions to solve big challenges & suffering in beautiful places.
