Why Every Artist Should Paint Still Lives

Painting a bowl of fruit or a few simple objects might not seem like a big deal, it could be the key faster progress in your portrait, figurative, or landscape paintings. 

A Little About My Own Experience

My strongest interest in art has always been portraits & figures, and to be honest I haven't historically wanted to paint anything else. Still, something about my figure paintings with blank backgrounds seemed to be lacking something. So in my mid-20s I started doing very small still life studied from life. At first I wasn't very inspired, but eventually I saw little stories emerging amongst the fruits in the produce section. It became fun!

This helped a lot when I started adding props and backgrounds to my figure paintings. I always say you can spot the chronology of my work by what's included in the composition: Is it a figure with a blank background? Very early work. Is the subject holding a prop or wearing a partial costume? That's approaching a decade in. And when you see entire interiors, landscapes, or detailed natural elements you know it's fairly new work.

Even though I don't have my early paintings on this site, I think you can still see the development from the bottom of the page to the top: https://www.lacey-lewis.com/burlesquepaintings 

That's because everything I study from life or in smaller pieces trickles into all the work I do, and it's improved my ability to compose and be creative more than almost anything else.

Here's how it can help you, too:

1. Master Painting Skills

When you have high level painting skills, even the most mundane subject is striking. Complex things like portraits or detailed terrain can distract you from mastering these basic concepts. If you want to level up challenge yourself to paint the simplest of objects while pushing your skills to the next level. This could mean to paint it as faithfully as possible: Or it could mean to use artistic license in a creative way.

2. Practice Using Creativity

The best artists are able to deviate from what they see in order to support composition, depth, and focus. While it can be intimidating to approach how to make changes in something like a figure, practicing making purposeful alterations with simple objects builds your confidence. Try leaving out details, losing edges, or adjusting colors on a still life and see how possibilities open up in all your work!

3. Utilize Observing with Your Own Eyeballs

If you never work from life, you're missing out. The human eye works in totally different ways from a camera lens, and there's so much to be gained from direct observation. Using a still life makes it much more practical to work from life and to control the environment so that you're not chasing lighting or a moving subject. I'm not in the camp that believes all work should be done from life, however it's absolutely true that the more you learn how your eye works and how things look to a human, the more you can use your photo references intentionally instead of mindlessly copying. 

4. Experiment with Color & Composition

With still lives, the color, shape, and scale of objects to choose from and how to arrange them are endless. You can practice painting colors you find tricky, learn how hues change from light to shadow, and find color schemes that you enjoy through experimentation. This can lead to more creative color and composition choices in all your work.

5. Practice Textures & Surfaces

If you practice painting metal, you won't be tripped up by jewelry in a portrait. If you know how to paint wood texture or fabric, you'll have a head start on interiors and drapery. Still life studies are the training ground for larger compositions.

 Join me for Still Life Painting in Oil

Develop composition & realistic painting skills in 8 weeks. This class is for students who've studied the basics of paint mixing and application, but want to create more dynamic and impactful compositions with impressive depth and realism.

Still Life Painting in Oil
Wednesdays 6-8:30pm
September 24th - November 12th, 2025
$240 Virtual Attendance
$475 In-Studio Includes all materials

Register Here

~Happy Painting!