Still Life Blues

I don’t like drawing still lifes. 

Let me reinforce this: I really don’t like drawing still lifes. Personally, I find them horribly tedious and unbelievably boring to draw. Others love them and I just … don’t. But just because I have an unpopular opinion about still lifes doesn’t mean that they don’t serve a purpose in art. 

Still lifes are great for improving your observational skills, which are key to pretty much any type of art involving realism. You’ll want to train your eye to be able to notice details and transfer them into whatever form you may be working on. And a great way to notice those true to life details is from (you guessed it!) real life. 

If you’ve been itching to make your drawings look more realistic, or spice up those paintings with a touch of realism, you can set up a still life pretty much anywhere. Arrange some objects on your kitchen table, or go outside and paint your backyard. Whatever you decide, still lifes are a great practice for any beginner or experienced artist.

I still don’t like still lifes, but I do them sometimes just to brush up my skills. I believe that they are important to growing and developing your artistic abilities, and a time honored tradition in art. Maybe someday still lifes will grow on me, but today is not the day.