How to paint a still life in oils step by step: from drawing to details

TUREFF• •0

A still life is the best first subject in oils. The objects do not move, the light stays put if you control it, and you can take as many sessions as you need. This guide walks through one painting from setting up the objects to the last highlight, using the classic indirect method: underpainting first, colour on top.

Step 1: Set up the still life

Choose three to five simple objects with different shapes and surfaces: a mug, a piece of fruit, a bottle, a cloth.
Use one strong light source from the side, such as a desk lamp, and block other light if you can. A single light gives clear shadows and makes the forms read.
Put a plain background behind, a sheet or board in a mid tone.
Take a photo of the set-up in case something moves, but paint from life as much as possible.

Step 2: Compose and draw

Make a few small thumbnail sketches in pencil to choose the arrangement and crop. Avoid placing the main object dead centre, and let some objects overlap.
Tone the canvas with a thin wash of a neutral colour, such as burnt umber or burnt sienna thinned well. A toned ground makes judging values far easier than white.
Draw the main shapes with a small brush and thin paint. Look for big shapes, the angles of edges and where shadows fall, not detail.
Wipe out and redraw freely. Thin paint comes off easily with a rag.

Step 3: Underpainting

Using one colour (often burnt umber) thinned with a little solvent or a solvent-free medium:

Mass in the darks and the shadow shapes.
Lift out the lights by wiping with a rag.
Aim for a monochrome version of the painting that already reads as light and shadow.

Let it dry to the touch before going on. Because it is thin and lean, it usually dries fairly quickly.

Step 4: Block in colour

Now switch to paint used more or less straight from the tube.

Start with the darks and shadow colours, then move to the middle tones, then the lights.
Cover the whole canvas, background included, with large flat areas of roughly the right colour and value. Use your biggest brush.
Compare constantly: is this shadow darker than that one? Is the cloth warmer than the wall?
Leave edges and texture for later.

At the end of this stage the painting should look like a simplified, slightly blocky version of the subject. If it reads well from across the room, the hard part is done.

Step 5: Refine forms

Work into the blocked-in areas, adding the half tones where light turns into shadow.
Pay attention to edges: some sharp (where a light object meets a dark background), some soft (where a round form turns away).
Add reflected light in shadows, often a touch of the colour of a nearby object or the table.
Keep the fat over lean rule in mind: if you add medium now, use the same amount or a little more oil than in earlier layers.

Step 6: Details and highlights

Add highlights last, with thick paint and a clean brush. A highlight is often a single deliberate stroke.
Add only the details that help: a rim on a cup, a stem on an apple, a pattern on the cloth, simplified.
Step back often. Stop before you overwork it.

Common beginner problems

Muddy colours: too many colours mixed together, or a dirty brush. Wipe brushes between mixes and keep separate brushes for lights and darks.
Flat-looking objects: the values are too close together. Squint at the set-up to see the big lights and darks.
Paint lifting underneath: the previous layer was not dry enough, or you are using too much solvent in later layers.
Losing the drawing: re-state it with a small brush as you go.

After it is finished

Let the painting dry fully before varnishing, which takes months, not days. Store it somewhere it can get air and light while it dries. Post a photo of your first still life set-up or ask about a stage you are stuck on in the comments.