On Painting A Small Still Life Step by Step

1 www.clintonhobart.
com
On Painting
by Clinton T. Hobart
A Small Still-Life - Step By Step
2 www.clintonhobart.com
Copyright 2013 by Clinton T. Hobart
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage
and retrieval system - except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a magazine or newspaper - without permission in writing from the author.
All Images 2013 by Clinton T. Hobart
Dedicated to my grandfather - I edited this book down three
times and its still too short.
To visit my website:
www.clintonhobart.com
New paintings posted each week on my Blog.
http://clintonhobart.blogspot.com
Click here to add me on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/clinton.hobart
On Painting by Clinton T. Hobart
3 www.clintonhobart.com On Painting by Clinton T. Hobart
Acknowledgements
I work hard, really hard, but I also had a lot of help from some fantastic teachers along the
way. I wish I could thank all of them by name, but I have to limit myself to those whose
teaching directly influenced the look of the work in this book.
I would like to thank James McMullan, John Quinn, Mike Mattesi, and Stephen Gaffney
for teaching me how to draw. I know it wasnt easy for them.
I would like to thank Daniel Greene for the many things he gave me over the years,
including the easel on which I paint. His words, in one form or another, are all over this
book.
Special thanks to Beth and Jane at Scottsdale Fine Art.
I would like to thank my editor for her time and patience.
I would like to thank my family for all of their help and support.
Lastly, Id like to thank everyone who has ever bought a painting, no matter how large or
small. Without you I could not do this everyday. A sale is the highest compliment. Without
sales, this is a hobby, not a career. When you buy a painting, you do not just get that paint-
ing, you give me the chance to make another.
I thank you all.
A Six-Hour Black-And-White Demo?
I would suggest that every painter, amateur and professional, try this exercise at least once. I
know many that already have. I frequently see drawings and black and white paintings made
from plaster casts.
One of the most common questions I get asked from people who want to learn how to paint is
Where do I start? My advice is always black and white. I see so many class lists with twenty-five
colors, a huge expensive palette, and every medium made. The students endup spending three
hundred dollars and they dont even know if they enjoy painting yet. In colleges, I have seen time
and time again a still-life set-up that is eight feet long. It has two incomplete skeletons, six
empty bottles of Irish Creme, a stuffed peacock, some plastic fruit and flowers, drapery of all sorts
of colors that clash, and dozens of other non-related items thrown in there. First of all, it would
take ten years for anyone with any ability to paint this thing actual size. Second, whats the story?
A taxidermist and a bad decorator got drunk together on Irish Creme and died leaving their
remains in room 302 of the University of Blank...
I dont know about you, but I prefer a painting that makes some sense.
First Things First
In order to paint well, you first must be able to draw well. If you cant draw, take the time to learn
that first. You can teach yourself how to draw in about two years. Dont panic, it goes by faster
than you think and you will be better off for it. If you desire to be a great painter someday, learn
how to draw, and more importantly, learn how to draw the figure. When I was in art school,
I went to three figure-drawing classes a day, five days a week, and the zoo for a few hours on
the weekend to draw animals. Carry a sketchbook and draw, draw, draw. Draw everything and
everyone. Leave a sketchbook in the bathroom, bring it to the coffee shop and dont stop for two
years.
I do not take pictures of a still-life and then trace the photographs. Too many modern realistic
paintings made today have been projected, or traced, or made with some other shortcut. Aside
from a small handful of painters who are skilled enough to make it work, most of the time you
can spot it a mile away. To me, finding out an artist traced a work is like finding out a ball player
used steroids. Painting should be a reaction to life. Its about capturing a moment. Itsabout having
an opinion. Its about honest skill. That is not to say I do not work from photographs. I use them
for my wave paintings, I just dont trace them. In my opinion, the only reason to work from a
photograph is if the subject is too difficult to paint from life. The words are still-life. Think about
it, still and life. A painting of a basket of fruit made from a photograph is not a still-life painting.
It is just a painting. If I entered a landscape I painted from a photograph into a plein-air competi-
tion, it would be unfair. The point of a still-life is that it is painted from life.
Early On
I was drawing long before I started painting. In fact I was well into my twenties when I began.
What I found out quickly was that I was terrible at painting - not kinda bad, really, really bad.
Impressionism was big where I was and everyone was telling me, bigger brushes, more paint. I
was making very loose, impressionistic, bad paintings. Like most beginners, when I started out,
I thought the problem was color. My colors were all muddy and weak, and overly blended
together. Realizing this wasnt the look I was shooting for, I decided to start over and come up
with an approach that would work for me. I realized that color wasnt the problem at all, The
problem was that I had no idea what the paint was going to do when it hit the canvas. I knew I
didnt need all twenty-five colors on the palette in order to figure that out.
I never encourage anyone to use another persons approach to painting other than as a starting
point. The important thing is to study several different approaches and build your own.
I had been drawing for so long that I was used to a pencil. I put away the big brushes and bought
some short handled watercolor brushes that came to a point. I purchased a tube of black and a
tube of white and decided to make black-and-white paintings until I figured out how the paint
was going to hit the surface of the canvas.
Simply knowing what the paint will do is very important in learning how to paint.
And so I began painting in black and white. At the time, I was mostly painting portraits and
figures. I worked in black and white for about six months, but I was getting bored with it.
Knowing I still wasnt ready for the twenty-five color palette, I moved from two to four colors.
After I got used to those four, I added one color at a time as I got familiar with how the addition
of each new color mixed with the others.
By reducing the amount of colors, I was free to work on drawing and values and worry about
color later. When your drawing is solid, and you know values well, color gets much easier.
The reason for the time limit is that it will increase speed and confidence. I would say that until
you are a very confident painter, it is far better to do one still-life a day for a week, than it is to
spend a week on the same painting. The six-hour time limit forces you to learn and make deci-
sions and it will make for bold confident paintings. If you are an insecure painter, you can work
on it for ten years and you will still have a very, very detailed, insecure painting.
I suggest to every student to start out very simply. Painting can be extremely challenging, and
there is no point in making it more difficult than it needs to be. If you start out with black and
white, you only have to buy two tubes of paint, a canvas, some brushes, thinner, and a palette.
Before we begin, we need the proper supplies and tools.
My supply list for this painting is:
Acrylic Polymer Gesso
Acrylic Black or Black Gesso
Oil Titanium White
Oil Ivory Black
Gamsol
Brushes
Jar
Paper Towels
Palette
Objects to Paint
The polyurethane varnish is
only necessary if you plan to
make your own palette.
Most of that is fairly easy. The palette is the thing that gets confusing. I make my own palettes out
of cut pieces of masonite. I know of several painters who are selling their custom made, super-
palettes, guaranteed to make you paint better for $80.00 to $150.00 each. My palettes cost about
$3.95. I go to the hardware store and buy a piece of masonite. I have them cut it to the size I need.
I then coat it with two to four coats of gesso. After that I tone it with acrylic paint. The color of the
palette doesnt really matter. I would suggest that it not be a recognizable color, but rather a neutral
color, a greyed tone. After the tone is put on, I put two to four coats of Polyurithatne Varnish (See
photo).
The brush is called a chip brush and costs about a dollar at the hardware store as well.
...And you will never have to buy another palette again.
If you do not feel like making a palette, I would suggest buying a grey-toned paper palette. I always
have one of those around in case I run out of room on my regular palette.
Paint:
I am using alkyd paint for this demo. In order for this approach to work, the painting needs to be
dry the next day. If you prefer, you can use a speed drier in your paint. If your painting is even
slightly wet or tacky, you cannot work on it the second day.
Brushes, Panels, And Mediums:
The brushes you use dont really matter
as long as the brush you choose fits the
job and is high quality. Using a number
12 fan brush to paint the eyeball
probably isnt a good idea. Using a
number 2 liner brush to paint the
background of a six foot canvas isnt
really a good idea either.
The panel I will be using is a piece of
masonite or MDF with four coats of
acrylic gesso. I buy the masonite in
large sheets at the hardware store
and have it cut into whatever size I need.
I usually prepare many different sizes and shapes at the same
time because making the panels is a lengthy process.
Making the panels myself has many advantages. I can decide
how rough or smooth I want them and I can select the size. I
do not suggest anyone work on canvas board. In my
experience it can warp and bubble. Making the panels like
this will cost just about the same amount of money and be
far more permanent.
The painting I am going to work on is a 6 x 8 so I can use small brushes without it being a
roblem at all. Currently I am using Princeton brushes. I like the 4050R in numbers 1,2,3,4 short
handle, and the Umbria 6200F which are soft brushes with long handles. I also have one
medium-sized soft fan-brush.
I have many different brushes of all different shapes and sizes and I am always willing to try a
new brush.
Also pictured is refined linseed oil, which I will be using later. and Neo Meglip which I use but
wont be explaining here. I use Gamsol, which I prefer to regular mineral spirits or turpentine,
because It is the safest. The varnish pictured is Gamvar, which I like because it comes off with
Gamsol even after it has dried. I have experimented with many different surfaces, brushes, and
mediums from many different manufactors. Its important to keep trying new things even after
you have found an approach with which you are comfortable.
Mini Model Stands:

Because I like to make small still-life
paintings that are 6 x 8 inches, I built
small 6 x 8 model stands. I can instantly
judge size and proportion just by looking
at the set-up. They are made from two
pieces of wood glued together. If you
are skilled at things like this, you
can use nails and corners, sand them,
etc. If you are not familiar with doing
this sort of thing, you can just glue
the two pieces together. Once you start
adding the gesso, it will make the bond
stronger. Unless you have a habit of
throwing them across the room if the
painting isnt going well, they should last
many years.
Objects:
The next thing on the list is to get the objects that are
going to be in your still-life. The blocks are wood and
can be found at most craft stores or hardware stores.
The cylinder is made of a toilette paper roll. I made the
lids out of two cardboard pieces and glued them to the
top. I then coated everything with three coats of gesso.
Lighting:
I use spot lights to light the subject. I like the drama that they create and I also like to work
late at night which is difficult when working from sunlight. My spot lights are two heads
and two tripods. If you cant afford professional lighting, you can buy clamp-on heads
at almost any hardware store for about ten dollars. You will need two, one light for the subject
and one for your canvas or panel. Make sure both lights are directly next to one another, or you
will get multiple light sources on your subject. When you have strong shadows on one side,
the lighting is good. I suggest strong shadows from the lighting because it is the easiest
light to paint and draw. I also try to make the shadow shapes interesting. If you are working
in direct sunlight, or a dark room with limited light, and the shadows are too large or too soft,
it increases the difficulty. Although it is great to try a difficult lighting set-up, I would suggest
starting out simply for this approach.
OK, we have our lights on, paint out,
palette ready, brushes, and paper towels,
toned panel, still-life all set up.
Looks like we are ready to start painting.
Since it is a black and white painting, a
value scale might come in handy...
Oops, no value scale?
Below is a standard value scale.
If you are a beginner, or if you have never made one of these yourself, try it! You will be amazed
at how much you will learn. Dont just buy one and stare at it, actually make one. I have made
dozens of these over the years and just made these recently. I still learn something from doing it.
Both are painted on scraps left over from when I cut down the panels.
I painted one of these on a toned panel and one on a white panel. Look at how much easier it is to
see the lights on the toned panel. This is exactly why I suggest to begin working on a toned sur-
face rather than a white surface. Even if your plan is to work on a white surface, it wont hurt to
do a few value studies on the toned surface just to gain the experience.
My plan was to break this down into the easiest approach I could, and then slowly make it
more difficult as I gained confidence. If you set your goals too high and fail, you will lose the
desire to keep painting. Keep it simple, succeed, and then raise the goal just a little higher.
I start with a quick sketch.
Normally I would start drawing
directly with a brush. I only use
pencil when there are precise shapes
which need to be drawn. I did the
first sketch freehand. It is just a quick
gesture to capture the mood of the
painting.
I took one of the balls and just checked to see if it fit
nicely into one of my templates. It did! I sketched
that in pencil over my other drawing. I used a
triangle as a straight edge to draw in the cylinder
and cube.
I then begin to paint. I start with a
color just slightly darker than the
tone of my canvas. I make each
drawing a little darker until the
drawing is accurate. I dont map
out the perspective, I just check
the angles by holding my brush
up to the subject.
After I complete the first drawing, I
fold a paper towel so that it is flat.
I then gently wipe off some of the
excess paint so that I can draw
again. If you press too hard, you will
wipe off more paint than you want
to.
I mix a value that is a bit darker than the first one,
and make a second drawing. If I need to, I will make
a third and sometimes a fourth. I very rarely use
any mechanical device besides a straight edge. I like
paintings that feel alive and organic.
Whenever I paint anything, I
like to include the direction
lines. It is not very important
in such simple objects, but I
find them very useful when
drawing a pear or something
with bumps or changes in
direction.
This is the finished drawing
stage. It takes about an hour
total. Because we are keeping
the whole painting to six hours,
it is a good idea to keep track
of the time.
I feel that this is the most
important stage of the painting.
A good drawing usually means
a good painting.
After the drawing is complete,
the first thing I do is paint the
deepest darks first. Then I
slowly get lighter until I reach
the highlights. This is the
approach that I learned from
my teacher, Daniel Greene.
I leave the first color on my
palette and paint the following
colors next to the colors that are
already there. The result is that
my palette will begin to look
like the value charts we talked
about earlier.
The most important thing to
know in order to paint a
successful still-life is how to
make things round. Everything
that turns does so by changes
in the value from the darks, to
half-tones, to lights, and then
to the highlights. I like to think
of them as value strips. If you
look closely you can make out
the five strips on the cylinder.
I try to view each new painting
as a study or an exploration. The
point is to learn. If you view
your paintings as product, they
will probably not get any better.
I always say in my classes that a
painting isnt finished when it
looks good, it is finished when
you have learned everything
you can from painting it.
The same rule of making things
round applies to the ball. It
does not apply to the cube
because it is not round.
I generally like to work on one
object in the painting at a time.
The other way to do it would be
to work on the entire painting
at the same time. All of the
shadows, all of the half-tones,
and then all of the lights.
Many painters like to put the
background in first, which if
you think about it makes sense.
There is no right or wrong in
myopinion, which is why I am
presenting how I do it and
encouraging everyone to make
their own decisions.
I painted in the shadow side of
the cube a solid shadow value.
Even though I know it has
reflected light in it and a
shadow from the ball, I will
save the details for later.
I constantly squint my eyes at
my still-life. This separates it
into basic values and shapes.
This is how the painting looked
at the end of the first sitting. It
was a total of three hours of
work. My goal for the first
sitting is to get all of the
objects in the painting
completely painted. I know
through experience that a
6 x 8 painting will take about
three hours for me
to get that far. At this point,
everything that is round must
be round in the painting.
When all of the objects have
the first layer of paint on them,
I stop and put it on the covered
drying rack so that it can dry
without getting dust in the
paint. If you do not have a
drying-rack, just put it on a
table with a cardboard box-lid
over the top of it.
While this painting is drying, I
begin another. Since they take
three hours each, I usually try
to work on at least three per
day. Because I use alkyd paint,
my painting is completely dry
the next day.
At the beginning of the second
day, I coat the surface with a
thin coat of oil, a process
called oiling out. This only
works if the painting is
completely dry.
After I coat the surface with the
oil, I wipe it gently with a soft,
lint-free piece of cloth, or foam,
or paper towel. Too much oil
on the surface will not be
workable. It could also yellow
and crack.
I now start over and go back to
the deepest darks first and
work my way up to the
lightest lights. As I put the
background in, I have to pay
careful attention to how it
effects the objects. For example:
the dark value on the
left of the cylinder is now too
dark because of the light
background next to it.
As I continue to paint, I will
keep making the darks darker
and the lights lighter,
constantly making adjustments
as I go along.
When making the value strips,
I put them down rather boldly
so that they are visible. I can
now mix values in between
each of the strips that are al-
ready there.
If you look closely at the
cylinder, you can see how the
amount of strips has increased.
Even though the background
is white, I am painting it
slightly darker than I see it.
The highlights are the
brightest light in the painting
so everything else has to be
darker than the highlights. If I
were to paint the background
with straight white out of the
tube, it wouldnt look right.
For me, the technique is not
what the painting is about.
Even though we are talking
about technique, and this book
is about an exercise designed
to increase skill, it is not what
I think makes for a good or
interesting painting.
Exercises like this are just
practice, a rehearsal for the
real thing. In my finished
paintings, I think of my
subjects as actors on the stage.
I create characters and give
them personalities. I try not to
worry about how they look, or
if they are realistic enough.
Those thoughts are counter
productive. If I think about
the subject, the painting is
usually more fun.
This is why I dont trace or
mechanically copy my
drawings from photographs.
I draw freehand so that the
painting has a chance to
develop a personality.
The area where the shadow
meets the light in the back-
ground is tricky because it has
to be soft. I put in the dark first,
and thenthe light. I then mix a
value in between the two.
Sometimes I use a clean, dry,
brush for blending. I will also
leave out one brush for the
lights, and one brush for the
darks. It is easier than
cleaning a brush every ten
seconds.
When painting the
background, I sometimes
will paint over the objects
that are already dry. If this
happens, I will either wipe
it away with a Q-tip or use
another clean brush to
remove the excess paint.
I love acting and drama. By
making the lights lighter and
the darks darker, you increase
the drama. It creates a very
different look from that of soft
natural light paintings.
Painting should always be fun
and rewarding or you will stop
doing it. Sometimes that can be
easy to forget,
especially when working on
a difficult area, or painting a
commission. I always
try to find something to grab on
to, some fun in each painting...
A spoonful of sugar I suppose.
I have started to paint in the
reflected light from the ball
onto the cube. The darkest part
of the shadow on the cube is
actually at the top corner
closest to the viewer. The
darkest dark in the entire
painting is the shadow
underneath the cube.
I am quickly running out of
time on this one. Remember,
it is better to stop at six hours
and try another painting, than
it is to continue working on it
for several weeks.
If you try this exercise and
you feel it could have been
better, you can rearrange
the objects and do as many of
these as you like. You can even
find or make different shapes: a
pyramid, for example, or even
irregular shapes of cut wood
painted white.
Now that the background
is completely filled in, it is
time to check and make sure
that all of the values are
as correct as they can be.
At this point, I have about a
half hour left.
I have heard dozens of students
come into a class and say Im
just having a problem with
color. I look at their work, and
the drawing is clumsy and the
values are all off. I have never
met anyone who actually had a
problem with color. If the
drawing is right and the values
are right, the painting will
usually be right.
I have seen wonderful
paintings where the painter
used lime green or bright
purple in the face of a portrait
and it worked because the
value was right. When you
get the value right, you can
pretty much use any color you
want. Color is the most
important part of the painting,
and the last thing the painter
needs to learn.
Drawing,Values, then Color.
There are plenty of painting
approaches that involve
trying to do all three at the same
time. That approach isnt for
everyone, neither is this one.
Try as many as you can until
you find one that works for you.
Well, since we are out of
time, I guess this one is
finished. As I mentioned
earlier, personality is a big
part of my work...and lets
be honest, this one doesnt
have much personality so
far. At this point, I just
decided to give the back-
ground a little personality.
I gotta be me...
Study In Black and White 6 x 8 Oil on Panel 2013
Here are a few of the Minnies I have painted using
the same approach as in the demo. I put in some of
the drawing stages so that the direction lines may
make more sense. They are all painted from life and
all of the objects in the paintings are actual size. I call
them studies but they are really character studies. I
keep these limited to six hours so that I can sell them
for less then the larger works. All are 6 x 8.
The drawings were
done with a brush
directly onto the panel.
I loved the character
in these peppers.
The creamer and the
candlestick took more then
six hours to paint. I made a
short video of the process
which is on YouTube. There
are also process photos of
this one on my Blog.
I try to keep my
approach the same
for each painting.
This lets me
concentrate on the
characters or the
story. I dont call it a system,
which implies doing the exact
same thing each time. Every
painting is different and what
works on one, may not work
on the next. For the wave
paintings below, my approach
had to be completely changed. I was not able to draw first the way I normally do...but we will
have to save that story for another time. The waves are 6 x 8 but take longer than six hours.
It all started with figure drawing,
and it is still the most important
element of my work. There are
things I learned from figure
drawing in every painting I make
whether it s a still-life, a portrait,
or a wave.
I suggest painting as many
portraits from life as you
can. I like keeping the time
on them to six-hours as
well. Both portraits to the
right were six hour studies.
I prefer to work from life, if
possible. Its just more fun
for me.
The Jester was my way of
combining still-life and
portrait. I hung the mask
on a large panel at my eye
level so that it is looking at
the viewer. Ive been told it
is creepy.
I dont copy exactly
what I see. I try to
make an interesting
painting, one with
personality. The
apples to the right
are from my demo
series. The first two
are drawn.
The second
two are one
day of
painting.
The last two
are finished.
These three are also still-lifes. They are part of my
mask series about relationships. They are much
larger and took far more time to paint. They are
completely painted from life and the objects in
them are actual size, or very close to it. Almost
and Reels took over a year to paint each.
About The Author
Clinton T. Hobart was born in Philadelphia, grew up in
New Jersey and studied Illustration and Figure Drawing
at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. After
graduation he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona and
began teaching classes at Scottsdale Artists School. He has
been teaching consistently ever since across the United
States and Australia.
Clinton has always been a fan of the movies and acting and
often imagines that the objects in his still-lifes are actors on
a stage. The story behind many of my paintings is that the
objects are finished with their performance and are taking a
bow, which is why they are lined up on stage. He
believes that character and personality are the most important part of the painting.
His work is currently being shown in many private collections, both national and
international. He has been in over twenty gallery and museum shows and is represented
by Scottsdale Fine Art in Arizona as well as several other galleries. His collectors include
CEOs, actors and actresses, several well-known artists, prominent businessmen and women,
and government officials. He was featured in the February 2009 issue of American Artist
Magazine.
Clinton loves to travel. He has lived in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Arizona, Massachussets, and France. He currently lives in Florida so he can
walk on the beach all year round.
He hopes you have enjoyed this book.

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