Composing a still life is perhaps the most daunting task when it comes to starting a new painting. An unharmonious composition can ruin a painting, no matter how skilled the artist might be. In my opinion, it is one of the most important parts of a painting, second only to an accurate drawing. However, composition can be frustratingly subjective; what is pleasing to some may not be pleasing to others, so it is important to keep several tried-and-true guidelines in mind when designing your composition. I found that I was able to identify a good composition when I saw one, but I struggled to create one myself. So, in case you struggle with the same problem, I decided to share with you in depth all that I’ve learned about composition to give you a good place to start when composing a still life.
How to choose what to include in your still life
First thing’s first: you have to choose the objects for your still life and the setting in which you want to place them. To do this, you’ll first want to think about the general story you want to tell, whether it be a complex story filled with symbolic objects (such as a Vanitas painting), or instead a celebration of aesthetics with the purpose of highlighting the beauty of everyday objects such as fruit or flowers.
Things to consider:
Carefully choose objects that will aid in the telling of that story (making sure to avoid superfluous objects).
Find objects that are generally all from the same era. I personally choose to use antiques or objects that haven’t changed in style in many years because I’m inspired by art history, and it gives my paintings a feeling of timelessness.
Ensure that all objects (especially ones used for a specific purpose) could, for the most part, be found together in an every day situation. For example, if you’re thinking of including a milk jug, a carton of eggs, a bag of flour, and a pocket watch, eliminate the pocket watch from your composition because it does not fit within the baking narrative you have established with the other three objects.
Begin to consider a focal point: it should be an object (or small group of objects) that best exemplifies your narrative or is the most aesthetically-pleasing. Whatever it may be, the goal will be to design a composition that will intentionally draw the viewer’s eye towards that object.
How to arrange the elements in your still life
Now that you’ve chosen your narrative and what objects will best fit that narrative, it’s time to arrange them in a visually pleasing way that will lead the viewer’s eye around the composition and highlight your chosen focal point. However, before you review some specific elements of your composition, it is first important to consider the more general characteristics of your overall composition. While there are several methods in which to do this, I’ve decided to focus on four: the Triangle Composition, the Rule of Thirds, the Golden Ratio, and the Armature of the Rectangle. These methods will help you to examine the geometric nature of your composition and how best to create a harmonious placement of shapes throughout your painting.
Method #1: The Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is a method that can help you to decide where to place a focal point within a painting. It’s a method often used when introducing a new artist to composition because it is a more simplistic version of the Golden Ratio. In my opinion, while it’s an excellent place to start, more advanced artists should eventually transition into learning the following three methods I will speak about later on.
In order to satisfy the Rule of Thirds, you begin by dividing your canvas into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The points at which these lines intersect are good places to place your focal point:
Still Life with Plums by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, ca. 1730
Method #2: The Triangle Composition
The Triangle Composition is, in my opinion, the most straightforward method of composing a still life, and it’s the method I use when I first begin to arrange my objects (I’ll then make adjustments by following other methods that I’ll talk about later on). In order to achieve a Triangle Composition, your objects should generally form an overall shape (known as the envelope shape) of a triangle. I personally choose to create the shape of a scalene triangle (a triangle in which each of its sides differ in length), because the asymmetric nature of a scalene triangle adds interest.
This is my painting, Artistic Attributes
Still Life with Oysters, a Silver Tazza, and Glassware by Willem Claesz, 1635
Still Life with Lobster and Fruit by Abraham van Beyeren, early 1650s
Method #3: The Golden Ratio
The use of the Golden Ratio in art composition is the most mathematically complex of the four methods I’ve included in this post. It’s also known as the Divine Proportion because it is a ratio that occurs very often in nature, which is why it’s a good method of composing a still life: we are so accustomed to seeing this ratio in nature that a composition based upon this ratio will automatically look natural (and therefore pleasing) to us. The Golden Ratio is 1 : 1.618, and one example is that of your fingers, hand, and arm: the ratio of the lengths of your distal phalanges to your middle phalanges is 1:1.618, the ratio of the lengths of your middle phalanges to your proximal phalanges is 1:1.618, the ratio of the lengths of your proximal phalanges to your metacarpal bones is 1:1.618, and finally the ratio of the length of your hand to your forearm is 1:1.618.
Firstly, you can use this ratio to determine the size of your canvas: a Golden Rectangle is a rectangle in which the ratio of the lengths of the sides is 1 : 1.618 (to calculate a Golden Rectangle, you would choose any length for one side, and then multiply that length by 1.618 to get the length of the other side: for example, a Golden Rectangle with 8 inch vertical sides would have 12.944 inch horizontal sides).
Additionally, you can use the Golden Ratio to determine where a focal point of your painting should reside, even if the canvas is not a Golden Rectangle. Rather than splitting your canvas into thirds, you would divide your canvas into Golden Sections. To do this, take the length of one side and multiply it by 0.618. Then, draw a vertical line at this point (beginning your measurement from one side of your canvas and then the other so that you end up with two lines). Then, do the same to the length of either of the sides of your canvas, and draw a horizontal line at this point (beginning your measurement from both the top and the bottom of your canvas). You will end up with two horizontal and two vertical lines. These lines will split your canvas into Golden Sections:
You’ll notice that each of the sections you have created have a ratio of 1:1.618
This ratio can be used to determine where to put the horizon line in a landscape, but in the case of a still life, I use one of the horizontal lines to determine where to put the line where the table meets the background, as well as the line along which the focal point of my composition will sit (in this case, the pitcher with the paintbrushes):
I personally only use Golden Sections to determine where to place two elements (the back of the table and the focal point). The more complex Golden Spiral, however, is a good method to use to check how harmonious your overall composition is (which is similar to the Triangle Composition). To calculate a Golden Spiral, you first split your rectangle into a vertical Golden Section (in this case, measuring from the right side of the canvas):
Then split this section into a horizontal golden section (in this case, measuring from the top of the canvas):
Continue to alternate vertical and horizontal Golden Sections (also alternating the side of the canvas you measure from) until you have made six divisions:
Then, beginning from the bottom left corner, connect the red points (seen below) with a curved line to create a spiral:
In nature, you can see this spiral in a hurricane, the Milky Way Galaxy, a Nautilus shell, etc.
The goal is to have your composition (generally) adhere to this spiral:
Method #4: Armature of the Rectangle
If I thoroughly confused you with the Golden Ratio, don’t worry, you’re not alone. The Armature of the Rectangle is another method of creating harmonic divisions that you won’t need math to calculate (with the exception of dividing the sides of your canvas in half); however, it creates several proportions and patterns of a mathematical nature on its own.
In order to create the Armature of the Rectangle, you must first divide your canvas in half vertically and horizontally:
Next, notice the points in which the center lines meet the sides of the canvas, as well as each of the corners of the canvas:
Now, draw several lines, ensuring that each dot is connected to every other dot. There should be three lines from each corner, and five from each middle point:
If you were to draw horizontal and vertical lines connecting the blue dots (seen below), you will split your canvas into thirds.
Vermeer, in his painting The Astronomer, connects the bottom two blue points with a horizontal line (in blue in the image below) that he used to determine where to place a strong horizontal element in his painting (the edge of the table):
The Astronomer by Johannes Vermeer, 1608
Which method is best?
There are several more geometric methods that can be used to compose a still life, but these four are a great place to start. However, you might be wondering which method is best. I personally like use a combination of the Triangle Composition and Golden Sections when developing the overall shape of my composition, as well as where to place my focal point and the line at which the table meets the background. As for the other methods, I like to keep all of them in the back of my mind, but I rarely follow them strictly. Remember that these methods have been developed with the purpose of creating compositions that feel natural. Therefore, if you have created a composition that feels natural to you without the help of these methods, chances are that the composition probably follows some of these guidelines already. It’s a good idea to always draw small, quick sketches (known as thumbnails) when developing a composition, and that way, I can use some of these methods to “check my work” when trying to choose which thumbnail to use for the final painting.
Fine-Tuning your composition
Now that you have a general composition, it’s important to ensure that it is balanced. To do this, pay attention to particular characteristics of each object such as size, shape, color, texture, and visual detail. When arranging your objects, aim for a balance of these particular characteristics throughout your composition (for example, if you have three red objects and two blue objects, don’t arrange all three of the red objects to one side of the painting; instead, try to disperse similar colors throughout the painting).
Remember that certain characteristics of an object will dictate the path of a viewer’s eye over a painting. Long, linear objects (such as a violin’s bow, or a pencil) will act like arrows that point in the direction in which a viewer’s eye will travel. Therefore, pointing these objects in the direction of your focal point will help to highlight the focal point. Brightly colored objects will also attract a viewer’s attention, so avoid brightly colored objects that are not your focal point (unless every object you are using is brightly colored). Aim for a balance of textures within your painting: including objects of varying textures can also add visual interest to your painting as a whole. And finally, remember that highly detailed objects are visually busy, and therefore also draw attention. For example, if you intend to have a smooth, monotone vase as your focal point, it might become lost in a composition that includes an intricately patterned tablecloth.
Final thoughts
If you’re still confused, don’t forget that the best way to strengthen your skills is to study the masters. The more successful compositions you study, the more patterns you will see, and the more you will train your eye to identify what works and what does not. Great artists to research are Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, the still lifes of William Merritt Chase, and, of course, any still life painting by a Dutch Master (such as Pieter Claesz, for example).
I know that composing a composition can be daunting (I sometimes find it the most frustrating part of painting), but I hope this information helps you to feel more confident for the next time that you go to compose a still life. If you have any questions, be sure to leave them in the comments section below, and I’ll answer them as best I can! If you use any of these methods, or a combination of them, to create your next still life, post them on Instagram and be sure to tag me (@clairetaveras.art) so that I can see them!