Vincent Van Gogh was a late 19th century Dutch post-Impressionist artist whose style and aesthetic played a crucial role in moving the art world away from what was then known as Impressionism.
Artist Spotlight: Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh is an artist who lived in the 1800s. He was famous for using his own style to put color on canvas instead of using a palette. His work is praised and appreciated today because, as one critic said, “There is something eternal and wonderfully relentless about his best paintings.” Van Gogh’s subjects were typically portraits, buildings and scenes from nature.
Hearing the news of Van Gogh’s passing caused John Ruskin to say “So he has pulled up stakes like so many other unhappy wretches have done before him, and wandered out into the uncharted regions.”
Writer, William Butler Yeats once said, “At certain moments there is a magical period when the bodiless images break chance and take on reality.” That fitting quote sums up how Vincent van Gogh felt his best paintings. They had so much power to them; he was compelled to create them at every chance. The Dutch artist gave a new perspective on not just art but also life in general.
Van Gogh strived for perfection in all that he did including his paintings which led to him getting teased by his peers often because it seemed as if Van Gogh couldn’t make up his mind about what medium he used in each piece. Some of Van Gogh’s pieces consisted of both thicknesses while others only include one or the other.
Yet it was because of his eccentricities that some semblance of fame came over him, which led to invitations from collectors that wanted their very own painting from the now famous artist. He soon found himself staying late night after night struggling inside the dark for three months straight attempting to paint the picturesque wheat field under moonlight. That work eventually became one of Van Gogh’s most iconic paintings, wheat field under moonlight, 1888 and 22 other specific works we know today.
Vincent van Gogh is one of my favorite artists. He was self-taught and discovered his passion for art after trying many different jobs. His background in gymnastics and frequent ear infections contributed to a life long struggle with mental illness that would eventually lead him to cut off parts of his ear. Remarkably, van Gogh became well-known for his masterful paintings only posthumously, having died at the age of 37 from a gunshot wound. He was a perfectionist when it came to his own work but would destroy whatever he thought were imperfections in other people’s work, famously saying “the good artist puts his figures down on the canvas like an animated cartoon.” Influenced by Impressionists such as Claude Monet and the Post-Impressionist Paul Cézanne, van Gogh strove for clarity in black outlines that solidified items within his paintings with simplistic lines that would appear harried in order to capture the anguish or excitement felt by each object. The most iconic van Gogh painting we encounter today is Saint Jean de Saulx d’ Abilities Church at Auvers (1890) where he famously painted with such intensity that it eventually caused ripples out of bounds before departing after laboring fourteen hours in.
Tips for Painting a Pretty Still Life
When you want to paint a still life, make sure that you capture the lighting. Use dark colors for the background and lighter colors for the objects. Place your subject in front of a simple busy pattern or color that will create dimensionality to the painting. And lastly, identify what about this particular subject sparks an emotional response.
The perfect still life doesn’t just happen. Some general pointers are to make sure there is adequate light, use natural elements for backdrop, and to design with a lot of negative space.
If you’re interested in painting a still life–we hope so!
- Use proper composition by grouping objects according to color, size, and shape
- Paint at a high angle providing a narration of the arrangement of objects (i.e. if arranging flowers from left to right move from small to larger). This will provide balance, movement please the ear of the viewer and add perspective – use an appropriate background or neutral ground for most delicate subjects
- Squint your eyes for accurate proportions, shadows and spatial relationships
- Consider drawing with pencil before layering colours
- Alternate between more intense moments in your painting and less intense moments. A dominant cluster should not last longer than 60 seconds on a single canvas
When situating your still life, it is best to use a firm, non-slip surface. Keep the light source of your choice in mind and try not to place anything in front of the camera lens. Be sure to set up objects at different heights so that they have depth and differentiate properly. Adjust the distance between your subject and the camera lens so that there is ample space for a shape or texture.
Techniques for Painting a Still Life
To paint a still life, you’ll need to choose what you want to paint and collect the necessary objects. It’s important to place everything in a realistic location: leave space between objects and don’t mix up every object types on a table. Next, sketch out your composition with small dots of color. Use different colors for each object. Using short strokes from the side of your brush will give you natural shading. The painter can put in details here by scratching the surface and allowing the white underneath show through.
One technique for painting a still life is to find an object in the natural world, like leaves or moss and replicate it on a nice cloth that you can set up on your easel. If you’re feeling ambitious, try finishing the still-life with some elements from within your own experience, such as fruit, jewelry or dolls.
Vincent in Perspective Conclusion
I learned more about Vincent van Gogh’s life and the impact his art had on history. What is most interesting to me, is that he never intended to be an Artist. He was a man who struggled with depression and other mental illness. Although he is known for his well recognized paintings and sketching, he saw himself as a collector or connoisseur of beauty. He wanted to talk about nature from the perspective of eternity, which I found fascinating.
