I think there's more pressure on physical framed art to be perfect compositionally, that's why painters get so good at it. It has to have a good enough composition to be justified to even be in a frame. And if it's not perfect, it can easily look wonky and out of place framed up on a wall. Plus, when you spend hours painting something, you don't want something to be a little off when you're all done.
Thank you for this informative and inspiring tutorial. The results are wonderful. Takeaway: the setup and lighting are critical for a good still life! Most memorable quote: "You're not painting objects, you're painting light falling on objects"
Unbelievable. Just watching this I feel like I have been to a museum and I am super inspired to setup my still life's. So many useful ideas. Absolutely stunning.
I have struggled with indoor lighting for years (it is definitely the most important thing). This video has helped me immensely- I'd go as far to say it has changed how I paint. Thank you Paul for sharing your process.
I really struggle with indoor lighting too. My studio is in my basement, which has very little natural light, but a lot of lights in the ceiling. I have a light on my still life set up, but need to turn off my ceiling lights in order to get the shadows and highlights correct...but then it is too dark in the room to see my canvas and palette! Really looking forward to watching this video!
wow, this VDO is super useful, an eye-opening for me, lighting set up, pattern of light & shadow making it so much difference and dramatic. I was like in a hurry and didn't care much about setting up process before, but this clip make me willing to spend more time for setting up still life as you mentioned that the set up should already look like painting before you paint, it should already look beautiful!!. Thank you so much :)
I don’t paint, but I do photography. You’ve got some helpful tips about the lighting, to make the still life interesting by placing light against dark. Thank you. Have a nice day.
Paul, so I tried to make one of these grid frame things that you use. I was able to make one using an old picture mat and some string. First trouble I had was that if it is attached to my drawing board (so that it is straight in line with my panel), that didn't seem to work; seems like it needed to be bent a little or on a hinge. So, I was able to tape in to my board so that it could swing to be directly facing my setup. Second issue was that any little movement of my position or my head, etc., the drawing would be off. So, what I ended up deciding to do instead was to simply take a picture of my setup with my iPad, pull the image into an app to grid it, then use that to accurately draw the initial drawing onto the panel. After the drawing is on my panel, I can then go back to the setup and continue to paint it from life.
That squash is so lifelike. I thought it was a real squash :). Thank you so much for this video. You published this 2 years ago and it looks like I am late to the party :)
@@PaulFoxton so your fruit still life settings are done with fake fruit? I think its a great idea because I am bit nervous about contaminating fruits with oil paint. Where did you buy that life looking pumpkin from?
I’m just experimenting with Alla prima and although I’ve chosen my composition I needed to adjust it to get the best light and shadow. I was browsing on line and just found your channel. It’s brilliant! It’s helped me so much in understanding the importance of light and how to get the best out of your painting. Thank you so much. I have subscribed to your post.
Wonderful video, thank you so much! I'm looking forward to watching more, I've learned so much already from this single video. There is no better way to learn than from someone that has figured things out for themselves, that teaches the why. Understanding what's going on is so much better than memorization, for me anyway. So lucky for all of us that have found you! Again, thank you Paul. Your work is beautiful and your kindness is appreciated.
Hello Paul, Thank you very much for this useful video. The set up and the lighting are difficult to master and to explain and seldom shared. Together with the choice of the subject and the composition, they are key to a successful painting. Congratulations!
Thank you! That's praise indeed! I speaking to someone who did one of your online workshops with Julie recently and she said it was by far the best online learning experience she'd ever had. I hope you're well.
Is there any particular reason you would use a speaker stand with a board on top rather than using a table? Is it because you stand while painting and want the height to reach your level?
your camera will have a way to set the custome white balance, if it's a decent one. You then take a photo fo the white balance card, and the camera adjusts the colour accordingly. ITts not perfect, but it gets you really close. What camera do you have?
Thanks for the great video. When you talked about adjusting the white balance I thought, "I need to buy a decent camera so I can do that," but then I saw the camera on my phone has a manual mode that allows me to adjust it. Who knew? Lol. I'm sure it's not as good as having a really nice camera, but it will come in handy because the color in my cell phone photos often aren't even close.
My 2005 Canon point-n-shoot (powershot a510) had a white balance setting. I had to pull out the manual, as it was buried in settings, but if a relatively cheap camera had support for it in 2005, chances are just about everything has a setting for it somewhere!
Great information. I'm learning that as my skills as a painter grow and I'm able to paint more of what I see in the way I intend, setting up a good still life with good composition and interest becomes the real art.
Loved your video, loved the way it wasn’t too polished, I’m just about to get started so really interested to see how you made your setup. Looks like I might be buying a speaker stand!
Thank you Mr. Foxton. I’m taking beginning oil painting in Lake Tahoe, California and I’ve learned so much from your wonderful video in composition, shadows and light.
Hi , thanks @PaulFoxton for this great tutorial. Wondering if 480 LED Beads Neewer would make the job for still life and portraits ? instead of this more powerfull 600 LED. thanks a lot
Not having tried them I really can't say, sorry. They might be fine, probably will be fine, but generally it's much easier to reduce light if you have too much than it is to add it if you don't have enough! I'd go for bigger lights if you can.
It gave me the fear for a while, but once I actaully tried to do it on my Panasonic GH5 it was ridiculously simple! And it makes a huge difference to the quality of the colour.
Outstanding information and inspirational. Lighting is such a difficult problem and you presented it in such a way that makes the info useful and accessible. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing some of your process. You said that you bought two of the neewer 660 led lights.. in what instance would you use the second led lamp with box diffuser? To light your canvas? What if you have very minimal light in the room to paint in? Did you buy two neewer lights because they only came as a set? Thanks for all your great work.
Mostly I have two becasue when I stream live when I'm teaching I'm often working from a photo reference which the students have too. Lighting it from both sides works better for the cameras.
By far the best, most condensed still life set up composition tips
Thank you Daniel!
I'm a photographer and i think, Paul, you are right! Light, Shadow, Composition ! ( and: as a photographer It's very helpfull to listen to Painters?
Yes! Basically we're dealing with the same thing: Light on stuff.
@@PaulFoxton indeed
I think there's more pressure on physical framed art to be perfect compositionally, that's why painters get so good at it. It has to have a good enough composition to be justified to even be in a frame. And if it's not perfect, it can easily look wonky and out of place framed up on a wall. Plus, when you spend hours painting something, you don't want something to be a little off when you're all done.
Excellant simple explanation! Best I think I have seen. Thank you! Glad I found you.
Thank you for this informative and inspiring tutorial. The results are wonderful. Takeaway: the setup and lighting are critical for a good still life! Most memorable quote: "You're not painting objects, you're painting light falling on objects"
Great tips! I hadn’t thought about using the card on the side of the still life. What a difference that makes-adds a lot more drama. Thanks 😊
Absolutely hands down the best video on still life setup I've ever seen. Thank you!
Speaker stand. Soft filter. White balance. Brilliant. Thank you so much.
Unbelievable. Just watching this I feel like I have been to a museum and I am super inspired to setup my still life's. So many useful ideas. Absolutely stunning.
I'd love a tutorial for how you painted your backgrounds. They're beautiful.
my frustration lies in working mostly from imagination, then working almost backwards in to 'realism'. Love the journey though, TY!
This is THE BEST video I’ve ever seen about setting up still life. Thank you sooo much.
This video is one of the best on this topic I have ever found!!! Huge thanks!!!!!
wonderful bevy of information thanks much👍
Extremely interesting and such good information. Thank-you so very much. Very helpful, and not often taught!
Thank you, that's great to hear!
thanks a lot. i smiled alot when seeing ur pumpkin model . amazing video 😄
11:25 - 14:05 just SUPERB 👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️
Amazing insights! Thank you so much
Great lesson for me - as someone who wants to dig deeper into still life *photography*!
What an intro.. makes me want to visit the english countryside😍 cheers from Montreal👋
Very very helpful information for a photographer, so many thanks.
I loved the adjacent piece which threw the triangular light shade on the back wall. Great lesson on lighting! You are so good!
Thank you for sharing your experience ☀️
Such a wonderful video! Very helpful. Thank you so much!!
Thanks Paul for your generosity. It's very helpful.
You're very welcome!
I have struggled with indoor lighting for years (it is definitely the most important thing). This video has helped me immensely- I'd go as far to say it has changed how I paint. Thank you Paul for sharing your process.
Wow! Thank you :)
I really struggle with indoor lighting too. My studio is in my basement, which has very little natural light, but a lot of lights in the ceiling. I have a light on my still life set up, but need to turn off my ceiling lights in order to get the shadows and highlights correct...but then it is too dark in the room to see my canvas and palette! Really looking forward to watching this video!
You are the best. God bless you.
Wonderful video with brilliant, specific advice. I just subscribed! Look forward to more.
Thaks Sharon, I'm really glad to hear it was useful.
this is gold! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Paul. Very useful. Very well explained.
You're very welcome Viviane.
Fantastic video, thank you for sharing ❤
Brilliant work brother. 👏 great tips and tricks, and SOLID advice. Love it! Thanks!
wow, this VDO is super useful, an eye-opening for me, lighting set up, pattern of light & shadow making it so much difference and dramatic. I was like in a hurry and didn't care much about setting up process before, but this clip make me willing to spend more time for setting up still life as you mentioned that the set up should already look like painting before you paint, it should already look beautiful!!. Thank you so much :)
Fantastic information. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much for this wonderful video! I have just begun exploring still life painting and this is incredibly helpful.
Just rewatched this. It really is brilliant. So concise.
Absolutely fantastic video! Thanks for uploading :)
Such excellent content! So informative as well as pleasant to watch.
That's great to hear, thank you
I don’t paint, but I do photography. You’ve got some helpful tips about the lighting, to make the still life interesting by placing light against dark. Thank you. Have a nice day.
Paul, so I tried to make one of these grid frame things that you use. I was able to make one using an old picture mat and some string. First trouble I had was that if it is attached to my drawing board (so that it is straight in line with my panel), that didn't seem to work; seems like it needed to be bent a little or on a hinge. So, I was able to tape in to my board so that it could swing to be directly facing my setup. Second issue was that any little movement of my position or my head, etc., the drawing would be off. So, what I ended up deciding to do instead was to simply take a picture of my setup with my iPad, pull the image into an app to grid it, then use that to accurately draw the initial drawing onto the panel. After the drawing is on my panel, I can then go back to the setup and continue to paint it from life.
That's actually a very good idea!
That squash is so lifelike. I thought it was a real squash :). Thank you so much for this video. You published this 2 years ago and it looks like I am late to the party :)
Not late at all, the principles are timeless!
@@PaulFoxton so your fruit still life settings are done with fake fruit? I think its a great idea because I am bit nervous about contaminating fruits with oil paint. Where did you buy that life looking pumpkin from?
Very helpful Paul - thank you from Oz
You're very welcome Pauline!
I’m just experimenting with Alla prima and although I’ve chosen my composition I needed to adjust it to get the best light and shadow. I was browsing on line and just found your channel. It’s brilliant! It’s helped me so much in understanding the importance of light and how to get the best out of your painting. Thank you so much. I have subscribed to your post.
Really glad to hear it helped, thank you
A lovely demonstration of lighting the still life. I shall be using your method for future paintings.
Wonderful video, thank you so much! I'm looking forward to watching more, I've learned so much already from this single video. There is no better way to learn than from someone that has figured things out for themselves, that teaches the why. Understanding what's going on is so much better than memorization, for me anyway. So lucky for all of us that have found you! Again, thank you Paul. Your work is beautiful and your kindness is appreciated.
Paul great lesson on lighting and set up thanks a mil
Very nice tutorial! Love your work!
Thank you!
I am a still life photographer and really like the way you describe your light and value process - all great advice and well explained
Great advice. Thanks for sharing. Cheers from Vienna.
You're very welcome Stefan.
Really nicely done with excellent information! Thank you Paul, very useful!
Excellent. Very informative.
Wonderful! Thank you!. I'm not sure if I understand, how to use the shield for the camera. Would you please explain. Most grateful, thank you.
Hello Paul, Thank you very much for this useful video. The set up and the lighting are difficult to master and to explain and seldom shared. Together with the choice of the subject and the composition, they are key to a successful painting. Congratulations!
Thank you Patrick!
Amazing video, thank you so much, this was extremely well done
Brilliant, Sir, thank you. 6:40am USA
Very informative and helpful. Thanks.
You're very welcome Martin!
Really helpful! Thanks Paul.
Nice to see you Dianne, you're very welcome :)
Absolutely loved the video. Thank you so much
Youre very welcome Monika, glad it helped 👍
Great tips
Very helpful! Thanks Paul!
I'm really glad you found it useful. I should be making one of these a week, time permitting, so lots still to come!
Excellent, Paul. Thanks!!
Thank you! That's praise indeed! I speaking to someone who did one of your online workshops with Julie recently and she said it was by far the best online learning experience she'd ever had.
I hope you're well.
Actaully, correction - she said it was the best learning experience she'd ever had full stop.
@@PaulFoxton My portrait instructor Yulia studied with him back when he was in Toronto! Small world!
Is there any particular reason you would use a speaker stand with a board on top rather than using a table? Is it because you stand while painting and want the height to reach your level?
Partly that. Also it's very easy to change the height and turn it.
Thank you for a wonderful explanation of setting up a still life and the importance of light.
Very informative! Thank you so much :)
Extremely informative, great video, very helpful, THANKS!! for all your time and effort. All your videos are much appreciated
You're very welcome Richard :)
Excellent segment....thank you for posting it. Good photography and set up is so critical for artists to master before they master their medium.
I am still learning from you Paul, as always! Cheers!
Paul, u r an amazing painter. Thank you. I have been your fan for years .
Thank you, great tips !!
Thanks, Paul for this... very informative. Can you please describe how the white balance card is used?
your camera will have a way to set the custome white balance, if it's a decent one. You then take a photo fo the white balance card, and the camera adjusts the colour accordingly. ITts not perfect, but it gets you really close. What camera do you have?
Thanks Paul, very informative and a great way to have a good set up!
Thanks for the great video. When you talked about adjusting the white balance I thought, "I need to buy a decent camera so I can do that," but then I saw the camera on my phone has a manual mode that allows me to adjust it. Who knew? Lol. I'm sure it's not as good as having a really nice camera, but it will come in handy because the color in my cell phone photos often aren't even close.
Yes they're pretty sophisticated these days!
My 2005 Canon point-n-shoot (powershot a510) had a white balance setting. I had to pull out the manual, as it was buried in settings, but if a relatively cheap camera had support for it in 2005, chances are just about everything has a setting for it somewhere!
Great information. I'm learning that as my skills as a painter grow and I'm able to paint more of what I see in the way I intend, setting up a good still life with good composition and interest becomes the real art.
Very good point. Thanks
Hi Paul great video! I was thinking about getting some speaker stands. How did you attach your base board to it? Or is it just balanced? Thanks
Loved your video, loved the way it wasn’t too polished, I’m just about to get started so really interested to see how you made your setup. Looks like I might be buying a speaker stand!
Speaker stands for the win!
Great tips here! I’m looking to start still life and came across your channel. I’ve subscribed, thanks so much! 🎨
Great Sean, I hope to be producing some new stuff for the channel soon - just a bit busy teaching at the moment.
@@PaulFoxton can’t wait! 🎨
very helpful! thank you very much
You have a fantastic voice!
Thank you Mr. Foxton. I’m taking beginning oil painting in Lake Tahoe, California and I’ve learned so much from your wonderful video in composition, shadows and light.
Fantastic Heather, thank you
Excellent
Thanks. Very helpful.
You're welcome Bonny :)
Very interesting and helpful
Fantastic video
Thank you :)
Thank you for such informative video!
Thank you, Thank you!!
I love your video.
Thank you :)
Loved this. Thank you.
Love this video! New subscriber!
Hi , thanks @PaulFoxton for this great tutorial. Wondering if 480 LED Beads Neewer would make the job for still life and portraits ? instead of this more powerfull 600 LED. thanks a lot
Not having tried them I really can't say, sorry. They might be fine, probably will be fine, but generally it's much easier to reduce light if you have too much than it is to add it if you don't have enough! I'd go for bigger lights if you can.
coo. thanks@@PaulFoxton . already ordered the same 600 pixels ones. keen to see it at work.
Wow! Loved this. I learned so much in those few minutes. Thank you
Good learning
I've learned so much from you Paul. Thank you!
incredible thank you
Hi Paul, I have made the same things with the same light. Have you got the glare on the paintings ? Thanks 🙏
Thanks, Paul, great tips! I have to learn how to set the white balance in my camera. I have never bothered too much about it :-\
It gave me the fear for a while, but once I actaully tried to do it on my Panasonic GH5 it was ridiculously simple! And it makes a huge difference to the quality of the colour.
Thank you Paul for this informative instruction. I'm looking forward to more of these on Thursdays!
Outstanding information and inspirational. Lighting is such a difficult problem and you presented it in such a way that makes the info useful and accessible. Thank you.
Brilliant to hear, thanks Jan!
Thanks for sharing some of your process.
You said that you bought two of the neewer 660 led lights.. in what instance would you use the second led lamp with box diffuser? To light your canvas? What if you have very minimal light in the room to paint in? Did you buy two neewer lights because they only came as a set? Thanks for all your great work.
Mostly I have two becasue when I stream live when I'm teaching I'm often working from a photo reference which the students have too. Lighting it from both sides works better for the cameras.
BRILLIANT! Please show us how you photograph your subjects!
Great idea Amy, I'll add that to the big list of ideas for the coming live sessions!
Thank you Paul! I'm sure we'd all benefit from that!
Thank you for posting this