22/02/2022
Over the weekend, we made our way to Bilpin, where a blue sky welcomed us, the sun was shining, and we could smell adventure in the air. We bought a picnic basket lunch at Bilpin Cider and finished our outing with some good old-time apple picking at Pine Crest orchard.
Inspired by our apple bounty, my eldest son and I set up a still life scene along with paints and brushes.
The goal of this lesson is to create art that is inspired by life. Often times, we get bogged down in the details of our composition and don't allow ourselves to explore. This lesson is about letting go of control and allowing yourself to be inspired by what you see around you.
The following are a few things we learned together:
1) Be patient. If you find it challenging to sit down for an extended period of time, start small. A quick 10-minute sketch or painting can help you develop your skills over time.
2) Don't get too caught up in the details of your artwork. The point of this exercise is to enjoy creating without worrying about the finished product.
3) Focus on what draws you into a piece of art: is it colour? Is it shape? Is it brush strokes? Is it emotion? Try to find the common thread between pieces that you admire.
4) Have fun! Creating should be a relaxing and enjoyable experience for everyone involved!
You might ask, what is Still Life?
One definition is that still life is an art form in which the artist arranges any number of inanimate elements - fruit, flowers, vases, etc. - and paints them. Artists use still lifes as subjects to express ideas in many different ways.
For further reference, check out Paul Cezanne's 'Still life of Apples'. Paul Cezanne focused on not creating a mirror image but concentrated on the light, colours, and space.
Go to this link for more information:
https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/paul-cezanne-still-life-with-apples-1895-98/
