🎨 Exploring Value and Composition Through Still Life: A Student Work in Progress
This week in the studio, our students dove into the foundational principles of value, contrast, and composition through still life drawing — and this beautiful in-progress piece is a standout example of those ideas in action.
What I love most about this student’s work is the thoughtful combination of media and method. They began with a structured graphite drawing to explore the three-dimensional form of transparent glass objects. Notice how the leftmost jar is rendered with strong attention to light and shadow, using smooth shading to create depth. The play of highlights and cast shadows makes the object feel convincingly real, despite the sketchy nature of its companions.
On the right, the other glass containers are still in outline — a clear indication of process. This decision gives us insight into the student’s planning phase and how they build a composition from line to tone.
The base, a checkered cloth in shades of blue, gray, and orange, adds a dynamic pop of color and texture to the piece. It’s a fantastic example of using a patterned surface to both ground the composition and challenge the artist’s observational skills. The reflected light on the glass, the interaction of form and background, and the bold color contrast all work together to create a visually compelling study.
We often emphasize that art is not just about finished products — it’s also about progress, decision-making, and experimentation. This piece captures that beautifully.
IB Framework:
This kind of in-progress work aligns beautifully with the IB Visual Arts emphasis on process over product. Whether students are working within the PYP, MYP, or moving toward Diploma-level coursework, documenting stages of thinking — from initial sketches to refined tonal studies — is essential. Pieces like this are perfect inclusions in a Process Portfolio or art journal, as they demonstrate intentional decision-making, experimentation with materials, and reflective artistic growth — all key components of the IB approach to visual arts education.
🖌️ Teaching Tip:
When assigning a still life, encourage students to mix technical precision with expressive color or pattern choices. Give them freedom to leave parts incomplete — sometimes, it’s in those unfinished areas that we see the most learning happening.
