Painting a still life Still life is one of the simplest kinds of painting. The artist has the freedom to arrange the different elements to create his own composition, compared to other genres of painting such as a landscape or a portrait in which the subject is an existing reference image. The background can be in a single color or it can be done in an aesthetic way to help the composition. However, there are some rules in this area, being the intuitive result of the great painters, who endeavored to create harmonious works of art. The artist has total control over the subject, manipulating the light and the shadows to express his talent or to create a composition that would make the painting a piece of art. It is desirable that still life works to be beautiful, harmonious, interesting and volumetric. In this kind of painting, beauty consists not only in painting objects but also in the hidden mystery and symbolism that it expresses. That is why every painting of the genre diff...