Setting Up a Still Life
Working from a still life setup allows you to have full control over the arrangement and lighting—and, unless you move the objects, they will always stay in the same place. When designing the composition (or the placement of objects within the borders of your support), arrange objects in a balanced and interesting manner. Avoid clumping the objects together in the center or to one side, and don’t line up all the objects in a straight row; these setups will either stop the viewer’s eye or lead it right out of the painting. Use diagonal lines instead to move the viewer’s eye around the painting. In this still life, I use diagonals to guide the viewer’s eye toward the focal point of the piece: the wine bottle.
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