Dana Zier at the Zier Gallery
Thoughts on Starting a Still-Life
By Dana Zier
In a balanced composition, there is an element of stability that gives "comfort" to the viewing eye. A visual weight can be assigned each element, so that, when added up, different areas/elements of each side of the painting should feel as balanced as children on a teeter-totter.
I use a more symmetrical (equal sided) composition often with Biblical subject matter - this is traditional, often with Jesus holding the center point. I use the shape of a circle and overlap the circles, or triagular overlapped base shapes, and then repeat grouping of smaller elements in the same base shape. This is also a great way to start a still-life which usually has cylindrical objects that must be "stable" to hold water. Grant Wood frequently used the circle as a repeat shape. In American Gothic, Wood repeated the pitchfork shape numerous times.
Many times in a still-life, I will draw an abstract grouping of all sizes of circles and ovals which become jars, flowers, doilies, etc. This grouping is often derived right from the still-life itself. These repeated ovoid shapes pull the composition together with this type of unity.
By Dana Zier
In a balanced composition, there is an element of stability that gives "comfort" to the viewing eye. A visual weight can be assigned each element, so that, when added up, different areas/elements of each side of the painting should feel as balanced as children on a teeter-totter.
I use a more symmetrical (equal sided) composition often with Biblical subject matter - this is traditional, often with Jesus holding the center point. I use the shape of a circle and overlap the circles, or triagular overlapped base shapes, and then repeat grouping of smaller elements in the same base shape. This is also a great way to start a still-life which usually has cylindrical objects that must be "stable" to hold water. Grant Wood frequently used the circle as a repeat shape. In American Gothic, Wood repeated the pitchfork shape numerous times.
Many times in a still-life, I will draw an abstract grouping of all sizes of circles and ovals which become jars, flowers, doilies, etc. This grouping is often derived right from the still-life itself. These repeated ovoid shapes pull the composition together with this type of unity.