Animal specimens are intrinsically connected to the natural world. Incorporating them into still-life compositions allows new and advanced artists to capture the beauty and essence of the animal kingdom. It provides an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of life forms and create a connection between the viewer and the natural environment.
How to Be More Creative in Art: 5 Easy Ways
Have you ever sat in front of your blank canvas and wondered when the creativity will hit? Maybe you’re just out of ideas and feeling completely uninspired. The good news is that as an artist sometimes you have to develop creativity, it’s not always natural and free-flowing.
Many people have the false impression that artists are simply born filled with creativity. Here at Evolve, we believe that while some people are indeed gifted with a natural ability to express themselves artistically without much training, the majority of artists develop creativity and carefully develop it with training and practice.
The best way to develop creativity as an artist is to have as many experiences as possible. If you’ve asked yourself how to be more creative in art, you’ll want to keep reading on.
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Evolve students develop creativity through experience, like this painting by Evolve student Ramona O.
Experiences Develop Creativity
Artists develop creativity from experiences. The more experiences you have, both as an artist and as a human, the more ideas will flow towards your artwork.
In order to generate new ideas, you also need to spend time investigating the experiences you do have. If you are interested in painting a subject, you must go and investigate and experience that subject.
If you want to paint birds, you have to have an understanding of those birds. You must watch how they move, discuss them with knowledgeable professionals, view other artists’ work of the same subject; these are the things that will increase your creativity towards the thing you wish to paint.
Make expanding your horizons a personal policy and standard behavior for yourself. If you see something interesting, go up to investigate and understand what it is in order to develop creativity.
Museums can do a lot to develop creativity for artists. Photo by iSAW Company
Try New Things
One of the reasons we often feel less creative or out of ideas is due to the fact that we aren’t experimenting enough with the ideas that we do have. To learn how to be more creative in art and boost creativity, you have to make things!
When you have a whisper of an idea, no matter how basic, or are inspired by something you have been investigating or experiencing, begin to sketch it out.
Then, experiment with different angles, lighting, and mentally walk around your subject. As you explore, you will find fresh ideas and creative bursts that emerge from the experimentation.
Just like a muscle, to develop creativity you need practice. With regular practice, the creative capacities of our brains can grow and be triggered. Here are a few simple ways that you can develop creativity to form new ideas:
Creative Freedom: 52 Art Ideas, Projects And Exercises To Overcome Your Creativity Block
Paint outside the lines! Jumpstart your creativity and inject new life into your art. Struggling to get started? Paralyzed by the fear of failure? Find yourself falling back on the same colors again and again? Just plain stuck? It happens to every artist sooner or later. What can you do to get unstuck quickly and painlessly? Creative Freedom presents 52 strategies for getting out of ruts and venturing beyond your comfort zone, courtesy of 25 artists who have been there, done that. Each approach is illustrated with a step-by-step painting demonstration. Together, they help you experiment with different mediums, new color combinations, fresh approaches to favorite subjects, and more. Try one a week for a year of creative adventure. Or dip in whenever you’re feeling inspired. You may be surprised at the creative liberation that comes from. * Painting with your other hand. * Going big with your canvas and brushes. * Painting fast with 10-minute studies. * Limiting your palette. * Starting with a random line drawing or custom painting surface. * Zooming in on one small detail of a landscape for abstract results. * Copying the work of an Old Master. Featuring an exciting variety of styles and mediums (oil, watercolor, acrylic and pastel), novel perspectives and an invigorating sense of play, this book is sure to generate creative sparks and joyful painting sessions. Getting unstuck has never been so fun!
Techniques for Still-Life Painting
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Still-life painting relies on techniques to capture the life setup of inanimate items effectively. Artists can capture the attention of their audience via the use of compelling compositions and arrangements.
Life Composition
Life composition gives the still items a sense of movement, energy, and story, giving the art an understanding of life and vitality. It lets artists see the connection between living things and things that don’t move. This technique adds a lively and interesting element to the genre, especially in a custom oil painting .
Light Source
How artificial lights fall on things can completely change their appearance and make people feel different things. Artists may think about the directional light, strength, and quality of the light. They can make realistic textures, highlights, shadows, and reflections by watching and knowing how light reacts with different surfaces.
Underpainted Color
Putting colors on top of other colors give a still-life picture more depth, richness, and complexity. This method allows lighter tones to be blended and harmonized gently, creating a bright, unified piece.
Tips for Still-Life Painting
Whether a beginner or an expert painter, you can take your still-life paintings to a new level by improving your skills and approaches. Here are some tips to help you improve on still-life drawing and develop contemporary still-life drawing ideas.
Select Interesting Life Objects
Life objects can make us feel sad or bring back good memories. These things can give your composition more depth and meaning, making it easier for people to connect with it on a deeper level.
Whether it’s a personal object, a prized piece, or something that makes you feel a certain way, putting in emotionally powerful things can make people react strongly.
Set Up Ample Amounts of Space
Giving your still-life items enough room around them creates a sense of balance and harmony. It helps spread the weight of the painting evenly across the paper so that it doesn’t look crowded or messy. The negative space around the main point works like a frame, drawing the viewer’s attention to where it should be.
Sketch Complex Compositions
The time spent painting can be reduced by doing a quick sketch first. It simplifies your process and lessens the need for significant alterations or repairs throughout the painting phase.
Final Thoughts
Still-life painting invites us to pause, observe, and appreciate the beauty surrounding us in the simplest objects. Experiment with different combinations, arrangements, and lighting conditions to create visually engaging compositions. Through careful observation, composition, and experimentation with techniques, artists can bring life and beauty to their artworks.
Still-life works are unique in art because they capture the beauty and importance of passing moments. Whether it’s a loved heirloom, a treasured memory, or something symbolic, Memorialize Art has the skills to carefully arrange and draw each element, making the painting a visual reflection of cherished memories.
