Chapter 16 — Still Life in Colour

Look at almost any old Indian artwork and you will find objects: pots, lamps, weapons, musical instruments, flowers, thrones. But in most early art they were never the main subject. They were there to mean something.

• On the gateways of the Sanchi Stupa, carved in stone over two thousand years ago, the wheel stands for the Dharma Chakra, the wheel of law that the Buddha set turning with his first sermon. The wheel is not a cart-wheel to be admired for its own sake; it is a symbol.
• Deities hold objects that identify them: Vishnu's conch and discus, Saraswati's veena, Shiva's trident.
• In Kangra paintings from the Pahari hills, a swing hung from a tree often stands for the joy of the monsoon and of love. It is part of the story, not the whole of it.

Around the sixteenth century, a big change took place, especially among European painters. Artists became interested in arranging and studying ordinary natural and human-made objects - fruit, bread, glassware, flowers, shells - which remained still while they painted. The skill lay in making these objects appear three-dimensional and so real that they almost seemed alive. Such pictures came to be called still life.

A still life lets an artist practise everything at once: shape and form, texture, colour, value, space, balance and emphasis. Because the objects do not move, you can look as long as you need. That is why art students all over the world begin with still life.

So when you set up a still life, you are joining two traditions. Like early Indian artists, you can choose objects that carry meaning - a diya, a rakhi, a cricket bat, your grandmother's brass tumbler. Like still life painters, you will study them carefully and make them look solid on paper.

Think about it: before you start, look around your room. Which objects would tell a stranger something about you? Write down five. This list will be your starting point. Judge a good list by asking: Do these objects mean something to me, and do they differ from one another in shape and material?

Still life is not restricted to drawing and painting. Once you know what to look for, you will see it in many forms around you.

• Photography - photographers arrange objects, choose a background and adjust lights before clicking. A cookbook photo of a thali, with every bowl placed just so, is a carefully composed still life.
• Sculpture - artists carve or model objects in stone, wood, clay or metal. Some modern sculptors cast everyday utensils in bronze or steel to make us look at them afresh.
• Advertising - the bottle of hair oil on a hoarding, the biscuit packet with a glass of milk on a magazine page, the shoe that seems to float on a television screen - all are still life images designed to make a product look attractive. Designers use the same choices you will learn: background, arrangement, light and colour.

India also has a lively craft tradition that is close to still life. In many regions, artisans make hand-painted clay fruits and vegetables - mangoes, brinjals, bananas, chillies - in various sizes, so realistic that they almost look edible. In Krishnanagar in West Bengal, craftspeople are famous for life-like clay models; in Kondapalli in Andhra Pradesh and Channapatna in Karnataka, toy makers shape objects from wood. Such pieces show the same close observation of shape, colour and texture that a still life painter needs.

Looking at these different kinds of still life teaches you to notice decisions. Why is the product placed slightly off-centre? Why is the light coming from the side? Why is the background plain? Every one of these is a choice made to direct your eye.

How to practise: collect three advertisements from old newspapers or magazines that show products. For each, write down the background colour, where the light comes from, and which object is emphasised. Then take a photograph, on a phone with an adult's permission, of three objects you have arranged on a plain cloth. Compare it with an advertisement. Check yourself: Did you leave some clear space around your objects? Is one object clearly the main focus?

A still life is only as interesting as the objects in it. This activity works best in small groups formed by shared interests - a group of cricket lovers, a group of music lovers, a group who like cooking.

Step 1 - choose objects from your own life and culture. Objects that convey your identity and sense of belonging are the best choice, because you already know their smallest details. You know how the handle of your mother's kadhai is dented, or how the strings of your sitar shine. Possibilities include a basket, a clock, a ball, a toy, a pair of chappals, a trophy, flowers, fruits, a lamp, a school bag, or a musical instrument.

Step 2 - look for something special made by a local artist. A Channapatna toy, a terracotta diya, a bamboo basket, a block-printed cloth, a dhokra figurine or a painted clay doll adds character and connects your still life with the craft traditions of your region. Then pick other objects that complement it.

Step 3 - select three or four objects that vary. Variety is what keeps the eye interested. Aim for differences in:

• Material - metal, clay, cloth, wood, glass, plastic, fruit.
• Colour - include one or two strong colours and some quieter ones.
• Texture - shiny steel beside rough jute, smooth glass beside a fuzzy peach.
• Size and dimension - one tall object, one medium, one small; one round, one boxy, one long.

Why only three or four? Too few objects can look bare; too many become a confusing heap that is hard to draw in the time you have. Odd numbers (three or five) often make more pleasing groups than even ones, because they avoid splitting neatly into pairs.

How to judge your choice: put the objects side by side and ask the group four questions. Is there a tall one and a small one? Are at least three different materials present? Do the colours look good together without being all the same? Does each object say something about us? If any answer is no, swap one object and ask again.

With your objects chosen, you now build the scene. A good arrangement leads the eye to explore each object - its outline, form, colour and texture - and to relate it to the others around it.

Choosing the backdrop. Select one or two large pieces of single-coloured cloth. A plain backdrop keeps attention on the objects. Its colour should complement them, not compete: a soft blue cloth behind orange fruit makes them glow, while a busy floral bedsheet would swallow them. If you have no cloth, a sheet of chart paper, a plain wall or a piece of cardboard will do. One cloth can hang behind as a wall and another can lie under the objects as a table surface.

Arranging the objects.

• Drape the cloth so that a few folds fall naturally. Folds add soft lines and gentle shadows. Do not iron them flat or crumple them into a tangle.
• Overlap a little. Place objects so that they slightly overlap when seen from different angles. Overlap shows which object is in front and ties the group together.
• Compose as one unit. The objects should look like a family, not strangers standing apart. Imagine a loose triangle or oval that encloses them all.
• Experiment with placements. An object can stand upright, lie on its side, lean against another or be raised on a small box hidden under the cloth. Changing levels avoids a boring straight row.
• Mix front and back. Put the tallest object towards the back and smaller ones in front, but not in a neat line.

Spend the whole first session trying different arrangements. Photograph or sketch each one, then compare. Your teacher may let you pack the set-up away and rebuild your favourite version in the next art period - so note exactly where each object stood.

How to judge an arrangement: walk around it slowly. From every side, does each object overlap or touch at least one other? Are the objects at different heights? Is there one clear star, perhaps the most colourful or the special craft object? Is there some empty cloth around the group, so it does not touch the edges? If yes, your composition is ready.

Light is what makes objects look solid. Without it there are no tones; with too many lights from every side, tones become confusing. The rule for a still life is simple: let light fall from one side.

When light comes from one direction, each object shows a clear set of tones:

• Highlight - the brightest spot, where light hits directly. On a shiny steel tumbler or a glazed pot it is almost white and sharp; on a cloth or an orange it is softer.
• Light tone - the side facing the light.
• Mid-tone - where the surface begins to turn away.
• Form (core) shadow - the darker side of the object itself, turned away from the light.
• Cast shadow - the dark shape the object throws onto the cloth or onto another object, always on the side opposite the light. It is darkest just where the object touches the surface.
• Reflected light - a faint glow at the edge of the shadow side, bounced back from the cloth.

Controlling light in a classroom. You do not need special lamps. Partly close or open doors and windows so that light enters mainly from one side. You can block extra light with screens, old banners, curtains or sheets, or filter harsh sunlight through a thin cloth. Place the still life near the window you leave open. A table lamp or a torch can also work in a darker room.

Remember that the sun moves. If you draw over two periods on different days, try to work at the same time of day so the shadows stay in the same place. Many painters also make a tiny note on the corner of the paper - an arrow showing where the light comes from.

How to practise: place a single egg or a ball on white paper near a window and close the other windows. Look through half-closed eyes; this blurs details and shows the main areas of light and dark. Draw five tones from the highlight to the cast shadow. Judge yourself: Is your cast shadow on the side opposite the light? Is the darkest spot just under the object? Does the highlight sit on the side nearest the light?

When the class sits in a circle around one still life, each student sees a different picture. From one seat the tall jar hides half the basket; from another, the basket is in front and the jar's mouth is an open oval; from a third, the blue cloth fills most of the view and the green cloth is just a strip. None of these is wrong. The important rule is: draw only what you see from your seat, not what you know is there.

When comparing views, notice four things:

• How much area each backdrop cloth occupies.
• Which parts overlap, and the spaces between objects.
• Where the shadows and highlights fall.
• The shape of openings, such as the mouth of a pot - a circle seen from the side looks like a flattened oval called an ellipse; the lower your eye, the flatter it looks.

The five-minute look. Before drawing a single line, spend five minutes observing. First decide whether the arrangement fits better on a vertical (portrait) or horizontal (landscape) sheet. A tall group of bottles suits a vertical page; a spread of fruit suits a horizontal one. Plan to use the maximum space on your paper.

Then observe:

• The size of each object and its proportion to the others.
• The lines and contours - the outer edges - of every object.
• The simple shapes combined to make each object: a jug may be a sphere with a cylinder neck and a curved handle.
• Symmetry - a pot is symmetrical; a crumpled cloth is not.
• Overlapping parts - the portions hidden from your angle, which you must not draw.
• The distances between objects and the negative spaces they form.
• The angle of light and the shadows on the objects, cloth and surfaces.

How to judge your observation: close your eyes and try to describe the arrangement from your seat to a partner: what is in front, what is hidden, where the light comes from. If you cannot, look again. Good drawing is mostly good looking.

Now the drawing begins - lightly. Early lines are guides, not final lines, so press gently with a pencil such as HB or 2B and be ready to change them.

1. Frame the group. Mark small points on the paper for the parts of the arrangement that will be closest to the edges: the top of the tallest object, the lowest edge, the far left and the far right. These four marks make sure that all your objects stay within the frame and that the drawing fills the page instead of floating small in the middle.

2. Measure proportion with your pencil. This is called sight-size measuring and artists everywhere use it.

• Hold your pencil upright at arm's length, with your elbow straight and one eye closed.
• Line up the tip of the pencil with the top of the smallest object and slide your thumb down to its bottom. That length is your unit.
• Without bending your arm, move to the tallest object and count how many units tall it is - perhaps three and a half.
• Use the same method for widths, and for the distances between objects.

The important idea is ratio, not actual size. You are not drawing the jar at its real height of 30 cm; you are making sure it is three and a half times as tall as the small cup, whatever size the cup is on your paper.

3. Draw the hidden basic shapes. Inside your framing marks, sketch the simple forms of each object - ovals, cylinders, boxes, cones - lightly and quickly. Fit them within your measurements.

4. Complete the contours. Refine the outlines over the basic shapes, add the handle, the rim, the folds of cloth and other details, still with light lines. Erase the guides that are no longer needed.

Technical tip: keep lifting your head every few seconds to look at the still life. Many beginners stare at their paper and draw from memory. Looking up often greatly improves accuracy.

How to judge your drawing: hold it up beside the arrangement. Do the heights match the ratios you measured? Are any objects cut off by the edge by mistake? Do the overlaps match your view?

Colour brings the still life to life. Choose a medium you are comfortable with - colour pencils, oil pastels, sketch pens or markers, crayons, poster colours, watercolours, or even natural colours you have made. If you prepare your own colours, make sure they are ready before the session begins.

Whatever the medium, the aim is the same: show the tones - light, middle and dark - that you observed, so that each object looks solid. Here are four techniques:

• Stippling - building tone with dots. Close dots look dark; scattered dots look light. With sketch pens, use dots of two or three related colours (yellow, orange and red on a mango) to suggest gradation. Oil pastels can also be stippled with short dabs.
• Hatching - parallel lines placed close together. Closer lines make darker tone. Colour pencils work well; follow the curve of the object with your lines.
• Cross-hatching - layers of hatching crossing each other at an angle. Each extra layer darkens the area. This is useful with markers, which cannot easily be blended.
• Brushstrokes - with poster colour or watercolour, mix tints and shades on the palette and lay patches of colour that follow the form. Dab, sweep or blend for different textures.

Be innovative. Experiment with dots, lines, strokes and patches of different sizes and colours. The shadow side of a red apple need not be red mixed with black; try a deep red with a little blue or brown. The cloth backdrop also has tones in its folds - colour it with the same care as the objects. Do not forget the cast shadows.

A good working order is: lightest areas first, then middle tones, then darks, keeping highlights as the white of the paper or adding them last with white paint or pastel. Work across the whole picture rather than finishing one object completely before starting another; this keeps the colours in harmony.

Care of materials: wash brushes after use, cap pens, and store pastels and paints neatly. Never disturb the arrangement while others are still working.

How to judge your work: step back two metres. Do the objects look round or flat? Is there a clear light side and shadow side on each? Do the colours belong together?

Art has no boundaries. Artists take inspiration from their own culture and from others. Comparing two still life painters, one French and one Indian, shows how differently the same subject can be treated.

Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) was a French painter of the nineteenth century. He painted apples, jugs and tablecloths again and again - for example, Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses (around 1890). Cezanne was not interested only in making objects look photographically real. He built forms with small, separate patches of colour laid side by side, as though constructing the apples brick by brick. He sometimes tilted the table top or showed objects from slightly different viewpoints in the same picture. Many people of his time did not accept these experiments, but later artists saw him as a bridge to modern art. He is often quoted as advising painters to see nature in terms of the cylinder, the sphere and the cone - the same basic forms you used in your drawing.

Krishna Howlaji Ara (1913-1985) was an Indian artist of the twentieth century, known especially for still life. He was a founding member of the Progressive Artists' Group, formed in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1947 along with artists such as F. N. Souza, S. H. Raza and M. F. Husain. These artists wanted a new, modern Indian art and were inspired by art from all over the world. Ara painted flowers, fruit and vessels, often in watercolour and gouache, with bold, free brushwork and strong, rich colours. His objects often feel energetic rather than quiet.

How to compare two artworks: make a table with two columns, one for each painting, and fill rows for these points:

• Objects chosen and how they are arranged.
• Background and table surface.
• Colours: warm or cool, bright or muted.
• Brushstrokes: small patches, long sweeps, smooth blending.
• Light and shadow: strong or gentle.
• Mood: calm, lively, serious.

Then write two similarities and two differences. Finally, ask which approach you would like to try in your next still life. Looking at other artists is not copying; it is learning choices you can use in your own way.