Observational Still Life

Artist's Statement:

Jillian Wight

Medsker

AP Art and Design

22 September 2021

For this assignment, I was tasked with creating an observational still life. This meant that I needed to use intense detail and create a realistic rendering of an object of my choice. Since I wasn’t able to infuse the piece with my own personal style, I felt that I should make the subject an object that I am passionate about or have a connection to. I chose my incense burner because I think it has some really good texture and an interesting gradient but is also really important to me. I also placed the lid of my tarot deck, as well as one card, in the frame. Finally, I added a necklace that my mom made when I was younger. All of the objects in the frame interact with light in different and unique ways. I placed them in front of a window to do my drawing, in order to capture those highlights. This was really great to practice, and I’m glad I got to create this focused study.

Once I had arranged the items in an optimal position, I began to sketch. I used graphite pencils on sturdy paper and went in with a small cap eraser to emphasize some highlights. I stuck to softer pencils, more in the HB and B range, while shading. This allowed me to get some good detail but was also more efficient when it came to shading. I smudged the graphite using my fingers in places where the covering was uneven, and to create subtle shadows that emphasized the objects I illustrated. I found that with the pencils I used, I could get a wide range of values, so a pretty complete grayscale is incorporated within my piece. I think this adds some great depth.

I experimented quite a bit with this piece. First, I wasn’t quite sure where to begin. I decided to start in the middle, with the tarot cards, and work my way out. This worked pretty well, but I ended up catering a pretty off-centered image. This problem was easily solved with a paper cutter! I also wasn’t sure how to illustrate the ashes on the incense burner. I felt that in order to create an accurate rendition, I had to forget about what I believe dust looks like, and really just draw what I see. This worked really well, and I’m happy with the result. Finally, I had to play around a lot with the perspectives and proportions involved in the drawing. I found that looking at the negative space when placing items was helpful, but it was still very challenging to have to recreate the scene before me. Overall, I enjoyed this piece. It was undoubtedly beneficial, however, I wish that there had been a little more room for creativity and interpretation!

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