Shape and Shadow

I found the following exercises useful in showing how a still life should be approached, that you must not only think about the arrangement of your subject but how light can affect the picture in both positive and negative ways, and how shadows are cast against various surfaces.

Boxes & Books     Page 24
I found this exercise much easier when treating all shapes as  see-through,  it enables you to better judge the angles  of what you can not see. As stated on my comments on the page, my placement was a bit off  and I cut the bottom box off, at the time, I thought of erasing it but decided to carry on, mistake intact. 

Jugs & Jars    Page 24
As my notes say, I learnt from the previous picture & started on the object furthest back, once that was framed, the other jars just fitted into place.

Shopping List    Page 25
Combining what was learnt in the previous two exercises, I successfully managed to mix both boxes & jars into a composition that on the whole has a three dimensional perspective.

Objects in Window Sill   Page 27
The late afternoon sunlight quite low coming through the window  produced good shadows on these two objects ( an enamel Eggcup & a bottle of talc) The top sketch, I am sitting, looking up at the sill, there is a shadow cast from the eggcup to the talc and the right side of the eggcup is particularly shaded.

Simply by elevating myself for the second sketch, changes the shade of the shadow to being slightly lighter which can be put down to light bouncing off the sill/my eyes not looking directly into the sky. As my notes state, the shadows at the base of the objects help to ground them as solid objects. 

Examples of different Gradients Using Different Mediums   Page 28