This still life project and arrangement was focused on the opposite of our black and white project and rather focused on the white object representation using charcoal as a medium to define the shapes visually. We wouldn't use any color and only grayscale black charcoal utilizing the paper and techniques to create white light contrasts. For the entirety of 3.5 hours we stood and drew the still life studying the light and shadows in order to replicate the arrangement in a realistic way on paper.
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 drawing was a realistic capture of the still life arrangement. With highlighted light accents and dark shadows to create a depth in the white objects and make them pop off the paper with only the use of charcoal and technique. The contrasting items within the arrangement helped to create this illusion of depth and use of drawing technique and erasers helped to refine the black and white charcoal technique.
I still have most if not all of my still life exercise assignments stored in the closet inside a drawing notepad. These practices help refine technique and train the eye and hand to deliver professional artistic solutions. The contrast of the shadows and the white objects with the use of charcoal and drawing techniques creates depth and life to the objects. Not all still life settings are the same or fun for that matter, but this one was an interesting project with otherwise uninteresting materials.
One foot deep in creative and one foot deep in the alpine. Designing solutions to solve big challenges & suffering in beautiful places.
