Mark, you are truly a blessing to the art world. I haven't painted in 10+ years and stumbled across your channel and you have inspired me to get back into it! There are a lot of people selling courses and such online, but you have chosen to give your knowledge as a gift to other artists. Absolutely amazing!! I just wanted to voice how awesome this is of you. Thank you!!!
The opportunity to see and more importantly listen to an artist go through their process is priceless. These video's from Mark are addictive. Each one is a learning experience like no other. I have the most amazing books but the learning curve through these videos is 10 fold than that of a book. So engaging. Thank you.
I loved that you were thinking out loud while making many different arrangements. You invited the viewer to make our own comments on what arrangement looked best. I have been walking through my house looking for objects to set up for a still life, but I'm having trouble finding something that works. Thank you your videos. Very inspiring!!
I have been watching your videos today... five or six of them so far -all in one seating. My first reaction: why didn't I find you before! THANK YOU for this amazingly generous effort to share your knowledge with your audience. Personally, I am even more inspired to go back to painting after a few years of frustration.
I just stumbled upon this video because I was looking for advice/inspiration on still life *photography* - and found something much better. This is the first time that I've seen someone showing the process of how to come up with a still life (others mostly show a finished setup and how to light it). This was much more instructive than anything I've seen so far, and I have to look into this "shadow box"!
I never thought I would consider painting a still life but, if you can master the still life you can paint anything. And what lessons to be learned in composition! I am definitely going to follow your plans for a shadow box so that I always have something to paint at any time of the day or night. I realized that if I always am working on something (even a long drawing) I can make use of even only 30 mins/day. I counted all the "objects" I have collected over _55 years_ and I have hundreds of things (besides lemons) to paint! Suddenly my "feather collection" makes sense! Hehe! Cheers, from Toronto ☮ P.S.- I ordered your colour checker, proportional divider and your canvas stain and they came promptly and are all of very high quality. And definitely worth every cent. (I am 63 so someone is going to inherit them!)
I really like how you showed us the process, too. And your train of thought. Makes me understand a lot more what makes a good still life and how it's not just throwing a buncha stuff together (like what we saw in the beginning). Thanks!
This video was so helpful and inspirational to me. I am a photographer, not a painter. I often find creating still life compositions a challenge. I will be trying some of your techniques. Thanks so much.
I'm so glad you chose to publish this video as it was actually like during the process! I think I got more out of it by seeing how it took all of the 'struggles' you went through to get what you wanted and didn't just 'cut to the chase' by showing the end result. I think it helps us when we feel like it's ok for us to feel what we go through sometimes during the process and that it's not always instantly right the first time...even for a master like Mark Carder. Thank you!
What a great demonstration. So encouraging to watch you mull and muddle your way to a composition. Thanks for sharing so much of your looking and thinking.
Fascinating process. I became absorbed to the point of trying to tell you where to place objects! :) I thought the jar with blue was wrong wherever it went - I didn't see what it related to. I loved the green book. I thought there were too many objects placed square on and would have been better angled, especially the silver box. Lots and lots of opinion and 'what I would have done", which just goes to show how individual we all are and how personal an image becomes. Love your work and videos and it has inspired me to paint and attempt to use your method. Thank you.
I really like seeing the process. I did my first still life a couple of days ago. I'm really pleased with it. I still have so much to learn and your video's are helping me see things I didn't know about. Thank you so much :)
Fantastic thought process. I would have loved the doily to hang down just a bit from the table. Thank you for the lessons, May God bless you and your family and may he grant you all your good wishes.
Thank you for this. I have always been frustrated while trying to put a still life together. It is nice to know that other artists go through the same angst at times too. You ended up with a very pleasing set up so I'd like to see your final painting of it.
I really like the setup you chose, it's the same one I would've picked--it's visually interesting yet still feels balanced. Thanks for your helpful videos.
I loved you sharing the thought process, i have had all those feelings setting up a still life. The set up is not as easy as it looks . Thank you for sharing.🙂
Lol...that's the setup I chose while watching. It just looks right :-) Thanks for all these videos. I'm gaining confidence that I can actually give this a go and have a painting I can be proud of. Your effort to help is much appreciated.
I used one of your still life setups for a painting I did. I particularly liked the composition at 05:22 in the video - really great colors, lighting, and spacing. I chose not to paint the frosted bottle in the back, the metal container on the right, and the grasses along the front. I also did mine in acrylic, so - it doesn't look the same, but I had fun trying your technique. I didn't exactly pre-make all the color "steps" first because I don't have a color checker yet so had to eyeball everything. BUT I found it interesting that after watching several of your tutorials the language in my head was "ok - that's too many steps ahead, take it down a few steps. Watch the value - is the value correct?" which was cool. I made some mistakes, along the way, but I was more getting the feel of these techniques. I really enjoyed the result - so thanks for your wisdom!!
thank you for sharing your work , i paint still life but it doesn't take me so long to set on something....you made so many nice settings then you played with them and changed a gain ,,i think a quick sketch will help more in value and contrast , while doing it i can still change objects. i am a self taught artist from Saudi Arabia.
I loved this video. What an interesting view of your process. Thanks, Mark! I learned a lot about the importance of the setup. Too many times, I've rushed through this part of the set up and ended up not liking it during the painting process. It was fun watching your still life change. Emily does have a good eye. And as I watched it, I thought of how it should have been arranged. What a subjective process! Did you ever post a video of the painting of the still life arrangement you ended up with?
Thank you, Mark. I’ve just spent two days setting up a still life. I find that objects need to occupy their own horizontal and vertical planes, with varying depth placement. Also, I work toward removing any awkward intersecting lines to accomplish an uncomplicated, almost Asian, feeling. Photographs *do* help. :)
Sir, I have been following your videos and have had the opportunity to learn from your professional counsel, excellent tools for the beginner as well as the established artists. Also, I must appreciate your generosity in providing free of charge, counseling and videos. I am a Vietnam war veteran who found peace and my life purpose via different artistic expressions, specially painting. I observed the above still life processing method and I believe that the “ugly blue jar” doesn’t fit in the display causing difficulty in finding the most accepted view, specially when the light forces the sight to its presence. Also, I consider it comes out of place when considering the beautiful forms and rich color and shades. In my beginner’s opinion, blue doesn’t fit there but the jar will fit if it is transparent and has a bronze cap. May be you think: “how come this rookie dares to make such a comment”. Well, you are right. I just want to bring out the best counseling from you.
Oh my, have I got a lot to learn. My neighbour gave me a small bottle of Chocolate wine and some plums. So I poured some wine, put the plums in a bowl, set it on a stand and painted it. Turned out okay. Then I drank the wine and ate the plums, hic-up! Now I'm searching my house for 'stuff' to paint, oh, and now I need a shadow box. Thanks for the video, I'll be back!
Wondering where you placed the light source to light the subject, how many light sources, what kind of light did you use (what type of bulb, # watts). Want to set something up with same lighting.
loved the monkeys, but ya can't trust them. lol. I think a lot like you Mark. Having objects partly out of frame. Objects in back and forground. Thesr are all skills I developed being a photographer. A strong sense of composition is so important. I think I like the objects to have some reason for existing together where they are, a story that says something about the place or the person they belong to. Great vid. Can't wait to get started on a new sl painting now.
Thanks Mark for being so generous. I think the blue bottle which was causing all that trouble , you could it and the bucket with the red hand , you could put a white rabbit or small brown bear toy inside it. If i draw a lot of stuff , it will take time and paint will dry, and you said it's better to paint wet in wet. how you can keep it wet till you finish painting.
Mark - You talk about taking a bunch of "junk" and just putting it in the shadow box at random. After moving and removing you arrive at a grouping that you like. I still looks like a collection of things on a shelf in the ultimate hoarders house though. What are your thoughts on starting with things that have some relationship to one another and arranging them in a way that is pleasing?
my opinion is...use like items. For instance...kitchen items with other kitchen items. Desk items with desk items. shelf with shelf. such as sifter, cup, blue jar, bowl spoon. another could be vase, elephant, book, flowers, paper, quill. another could be bathroom stuff like a urn, razor, shave jar, perfume bottles, mirror. just ideas...
look at your local(or online) textile store for clothes/curtains you can buy fabrics per meter there , and a tip if you pick something you want to stand out you should pick a fabric slightly lighter then you expect it will be allot darker in shadow box .
Go to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. There are tons of curtains, bedspreads, sheets and cheap skirts and even occasional pillows of interesting colours etc. Even a leather coat is only $40 and of course, they have a never-ending supply of vases, kitchen items and curios for pennies. I bought a marble trivet for only $1 so, happy hunting.
I have a question, you paint realistically, but these setups you do, the still lifes, they are hyper composed , meaning, they are directly contrived manipulated both content and lighting.... everything is so controlled, can this be considered "realism"? It is one thing to take a picture from everyday life or still of a kitchen table, quite another to purpose engineer reflected materials and cloth, transparent objects and so on... what are your thoughts on this? This is more of a philosophical question, but is realism just a way of painting the subject, or does reality of a scene play into the term?
Many thanks Master, you are a good teacher; On the other hand, İf you break down and get rid of this ugly blueish paint cup, your composition will be great whatever you put in your scene... :)
This is not a criticism only my point of view. Stefan Baumann did some videos on lighting effects with cast shadows and something he called eye magnets, which really gave the still life a dramatic feel. As I watched you make the various changes to this still life it just didn't come to life and lacked interest. I didn't see any object that grabbed my attention enough to make me want to stop and spend time viewing this painting..
Everything dark...always dark...I think you locked yourself in the same manner, style of creating your art... do you think you can brake out of this and explore out of this box?
Mark, you are truly a blessing to the art world. I haven't painted in 10+ years and stumbled across your channel and you have inspired me to get back into it! There are a lot of people selling courses and such online, but you have chosen to give your knowledge as a gift to other artists. Absolutely amazing!! I just wanted to voice how awesome this is of you. Thank you!!!
The opportunity to see and more importantly listen to an artist go through their process is priceless. These video's from Mark are addictive. Each one is a learning experience like no other. I have the most amazing books but the learning curve through these videos is 10 fold than that of a book. So engaging. Thank you.
I loved that you were thinking out loud while making many different arrangements. You invited the viewer to make our own comments on what arrangement looked best. I have been walking through my house looking for objects to set up for a still life, but I'm having trouble finding something that works. Thank you your videos. Very inspiring!!
I have been watching your videos today... five or six of them so far -all in one seating. My first reaction: why didn't I find you before! THANK YOU for this amazingly generous effort to share your knowledge with your audience. Personally, I am even more inspired to go back to painting after a few years of frustration.
I love the humility of asking for advice thank you for this example !
I just stumbled upon this video because I was looking for advice/inspiration on still life *photography* - and found something much better. This is the first time that I've seen someone showing the process of how to come up with a still life (others mostly show a finished setup and how to light it). This was much more instructive than anything I've seen so far, and I have to look into this "shadow box"!
I never thought I would consider painting a still life but, if you can master the still life you can paint anything. And what lessons to be learned in composition!
I am definitely going to follow your plans for a shadow box so that I always have something to paint at any time of the day or night. I realized that if I always am working on something (even a long drawing) I can make use of even only 30 mins/day.
I counted all the "objects" I have collected over _55 years_ and I have hundreds of things (besides lemons) to paint! Suddenly my "feather collection" makes sense! Hehe!
Cheers, from Toronto ☮
P.S.- I ordered your colour checker, proportional divider and your canvas stain and they came promptly and are all of very high quality. And definitely worth every cent. (I am 63 so someone is going to inherit them!)
I really like how you showed us the process, too. And your train of thought. Makes me understand a lot more what makes a good still life and how it's not just throwing a buncha stuff together (like what we saw in the beginning). Thanks!
Yes Mark, you are very generous and kind for letting us assess this course for free. You are doing more for the art world than anyone can imagine.
Everyone who's working through this process can gain from your struggle. Thanks for putting this out.
Really interesting to see this process, I feel that I understand more what still life is about now.
This video was so helpful and inspirational to me. I am a photographer, not a painter. I often find creating still life compositions a challenge. I will be trying some of your techniques. Thanks so much.
Love how humble you are.
You are grate with your analogy,love it
This was the most helpful video on setting up a still life that I have seen!!! Thank you!
So very helpful. Love your patience and how you really show the value of that quality all through your videos.
That table full of items in the beginning is a beautiful setting in itself.
I'm so glad you chose to publish this video as it was actually like during the process! I think I got more out of it by seeing how it took all of the 'struggles' you went through to get what you wanted and didn't just 'cut to the chase' by showing the end result. I think it helps us when we feel like it's ok for us to feel what we go through sometimes during the process and that it's not always instantly right the first time...even for a master like Mark Carder. Thank you!
Glad you put the elephant in there, really brings the still life some sense of a journey, and creates a story.
LOL! I'm relieved to know that I'm not the only one who feels completely inadequate about how to set up a good still life.
What a great demonstration. So encouraging to watch you mull and muddle your way to a composition. Thanks for sharing so much of your looking and thinking.
Fascinating process. I became absorbed to the point of trying to tell you where to place objects! :) I thought the jar with blue was wrong wherever it went - I didn't see what it related to. I loved the green book. I thought there were too many objects placed square on and would have been better angled, especially the silver box. Lots and lots of opinion and 'what I would have done", which just goes to show how individual we all are and how personal an image becomes. Love your work and videos and it has inspired me to paint and attempt to use your method. Thank you.
I really like seeing the process. I did my first still life a couple of days ago. I'm really pleased with it. I still have so much to learn and your video's are helping me see things I didn't know about. Thank you so much :)
Fantastic thought process. I would have loved the doily to hang down just a bit from the table.
Thank you for the lessons,
May God bless you and your family and may he grant you all your good wishes.
Really helpful, Mark - especially seeing the time lapse - thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this. I have always been frustrated while trying to put a still life together. It is nice to know that other artists go through the same angst at times too. You ended up with a very pleasing set up so I'd like to see your final painting of it.
I really like the setup you chose, it's the same one I would've picked--it's visually interesting yet still feels balanced. Thanks for your helpful videos.
Fantastic- it's so helpful how you show the whole working process in such detail. Emily has the most gorgeous thick hair btw... lucky gal!!
I loved you sharing the thought process, i have had all those feelings setting up a still life. The set up is not as easy as it looks . Thank you for sharing.🙂
Lol...that's the setup I chose while watching. It just looks right :-)
Thanks for all these videos. I'm gaining confidence that I can actually give this a go and have a painting I can be proud of. Your effort to help is much appreciated.
I used one of your still life setups for a painting I did. I particularly liked the composition at 05:22 in the video - really great colors, lighting, and spacing. I chose not to paint the frosted bottle in the back, the metal container on the right, and the grasses along the front. I also did mine in acrylic, so - it doesn't look the same, but I had fun trying your technique. I didn't exactly pre-make all the color "steps" first because I don't have a color checker yet so had to eyeball everything. BUT I found it interesting that after watching several of your tutorials the language in my head was "ok - that's too many steps ahead, take it down a few steps. Watch the value - is the value correct?" which was cool. I made some mistakes, along the way, but I was more getting the feel of these techniques. I really enjoyed the result - so thanks for your wisdom!!
Your are not an arties you are a master, its pleasure watching your work sir. thank you
This man is amazing !!!
Well I'm glad you switched it up!
Thank you for all your videos... waiting for your more videos.
So helpful. It's encouraging to see that this process is time consuming and a bit tedious even for the pros. :D Thank you for sharing!
i am so inspired with your videos thanks
Brilliant video. So helpful.
thank you for sharing your work , i paint still life but it doesn't take me so long to set on something....you made so many nice settings then you played with them and changed a gain ,,i think a quick sketch will help more in value and contrast , while doing it i can still change objects. i am a self taught artist from Saudi Arabia.
I loved this video. What an interesting view of your process. Thanks, Mark! I learned a lot about the importance of the setup. Too many times, I've rushed through this part of the set up and ended up not liking it during the painting process.
It was fun watching your still life change. Emily does have a good eye. And as I watched it, I thought of how it should have been arranged. What a subjective process!
Did you ever post a video of the painting of the still life arrangement you ended up with?
Thank you. Envigorated process and ideea. Thank you for sharing .
Thank you, Mark. I’ve just spent two days setting up a still life. I find that objects need to occupy their own horizontal and vertical planes, with varying depth placement. Also, I work toward removing any awkward intersecting lines to accomplish an uncomplicated, almost Asian, feeling. Photographs *do* help. :)
Man
Y thanks for this very informative video. Most helpful.
That was my choice when you first showed it. Immediately loved it. :)
Me too, and when he replaced the elephant, i was like: noooo that's perfect with the jewelry box in the left and the black vase behind it.
thank you for your shariing! I am just wondering what is the light set up on your canvas? I
Sir, I have been following your videos and have had the opportunity to learn from your professional counsel, excellent tools for the beginner as well as the established artists. Also, I must appreciate your generosity in providing free of charge, counseling and videos. I am a Vietnam war veteran who found peace and my life purpose via different artistic expressions, specially painting. I observed the above still life processing method and I believe that the “ugly blue jar” doesn’t fit in the display causing difficulty in finding the most accepted view, specially when the light forces the sight to its presence. Also, I consider it comes out of place when considering the beautiful forms and rich color and shades. In my beginner’s opinion, blue doesn’t fit there but the jar will fit if it is transparent and has a bronze cap. May be you think: “how come this rookie dares to make such a comment”. Well, you are right. I just want to bring out the best counseling from you.
Oh my, have I got a lot to learn. My neighbour gave me a small bottle of Chocolate wine and some plums. So I poured some wine, put the plums in a bowl, set it on a stand and painted it. Turned out okay. Then I drank the wine and ate the plums, hic-up!
Now I'm searching my house for 'stuff' to paint, oh, and now I need a shadow box. Thanks for the video, I'll be back!
Thank you...that was fun
Wonderful!!
Thank you mea4now! You positively can do it, go for it :-)
Wondering where you placed the light source to light the subject, how many light sources, what kind of light did you use (what type of bulb, # watts). Want to set something up with same lighting.
If you follow his free course and his page, you will find out everything about his method, the bulb is about 5k watts I think
loved the monkeys, but ya can't trust them. lol. I think a lot like you Mark. Having objects partly out of frame. Objects in back and forground. Thesr are all skills I developed being a photographer. A strong sense of composition is so important. I think I like the objects to have some reason for existing together where they are, a story that says something about the place or the person they belong to. Great vid. Can't wait to get started on a new sl painting now.
Thanks Mark for being so generous. I think the blue bottle which was causing all that trouble , you could it and the bucket with the red hand , you could put a white rabbit or small brown bear toy inside it. If i draw a lot of stuff , it will take time and paint will dry, and you said it's better to paint wet in wet. how you can keep it wet till you finish painting.
Thank you!
I would like to utilize the red-handled picture and the blue-colored jar. Colors and the character in those objects are appealing.
Mark - You talk about taking a bunch of "junk" and just putting it in the shadow box at random. After moving and removing you arrive at a grouping that you like. I still looks like a collection of things on a shelf in the ultimate hoarders house though. What are your thoughts on starting with things that have some relationship to one another and arranging them in a way that is pleasing?
Would have been nice to see an actual painting of your set up at the end of the video. Thanks for posting this.
That's the one I chose as well! When he relealed the one he was going to paint I fist pumped the air :-)
can you make a video of you painting this still life
love that elephant
I love the elephant too
Great Video, I feel I can learn even more if it have sound .
I like this video
Thinks!
my opinion is...use like items. For instance...kitchen items with other kitchen items. Desk items with desk items. shelf with shelf. such as sifter, cup, blue jar, bowl spoon. another could be vase, elephant, book, flowers, paper, quill. another could be bathroom stuff like a urn, razor, shave jar, perfume bottles, mirror. just ideas...
How is her hair so thick? Genetic or does she do something to it/eat something specific?!
I know!! ♥
You have, with the fabric 7 objects and if you count the leaves in the black jar, by seperating them into 2 types, you basicly have 9 items.
Anyone have any ideas on where to get good backdrop fabrics?
look at your local(or online) textile store for clothes/curtains you can buy fabrics per meter there , and a tip if you pick something you want to stand out you should pick a fabric slightly lighter then you expect it will be allot darker in shadow box .
Go to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. There are tons of curtains, bedspreads, sheets and cheap skirts and even occasional pillows of interesting colours etc. Even a leather coat is only $40 and of course, they have a never-ending supply of vases, kitchen items and curios for pennies. I bought a marble trivet for only $1 so, happy hunting.
I was rooting for the elephant as soon as I saw it.
Can the blue jar
I have a question, you paint realistically, but these setups you do, the still lifes, they are hyper composed , meaning, they are directly contrived manipulated both content and lighting.... everything is so controlled, can this be considered "realism"? It is one thing to take a picture from everyday life or still of a kitchen table, quite another to purpose engineer reflected materials and cloth, transparent objects and so on... what are your thoughts on this? This is more of a philosophical question, but is realism just a way of painting the subject, or does reality of a scene play into the term?
Many thanks Master, you are a good teacher; On the other hand, İf you break down and get rid of this ugly blueish paint cup, your composition will be great whatever you put in your scene... :)
master please subtitle in spanish
I somehow read the tittle as "How to upset life".
This is not a criticism only my point of view. Stefan Baumann did some videos on lighting effects with cast shadows and something he called eye magnets, which really gave the still life a dramatic feel. As I watched you make the various changes to this still life it just didn't come to life and lacked interest. I didn't see any object that grabbed my attention enough to make me want to stop and spend time viewing this painting..
To me and take with a grain of salt, you had an even number of things and I was taugnt to always paint odd numbers.
Hello, thanks for all what you are doing for artists.. do you have a Facebook account also a snapchat account.. I'd like to follow you.
Take out the jug!!
Me every time he puts the elephant in. "NO stop! I don't like the elephant. "
Lol all i can think is, “Turn the sifter Just turn the sifter just a little!”
Junk lol. One man's junk is another man's gold!
I have been collecting feathers, shells, glass, silver and even pine cones for years--and now I know why!
Everything dark...always dark...I think you locked yourself in the same manner, style of creating your art... do you think you can brake out of this and explore out of this box?