Hey everyone!
We’re setting up a mini still life using one of the best subjects hiding in plain sight: the produce in your kitchen.
For my sketch, I set up a little arrangement right on my kitchen counter under two overhead pendant lights using an onion, a head of garlic, a lemon, and an avocado. Having two light sources created these really fun, overlapping shadow shapes!
Step 1: Gather your produce.
Pick 3 or 4 fruits or vegetables with different outer skins. Think about pairing smooth surfaces (like a lemon) with rougher textures (like a bumpy avocado or the papery layers of an onion). Arrange them on a plate or directly on your table.
Step 2: Set the stage with lighting.
Place your setup under a light source. If you want double shadows like mine, set it up under two overhead lights. If you want to keep the shadows simpler and easier to map out, stick to one strong directional light (like a desk lamp or side window).
Step 3: Pick your palette (color accuracy not required).
Leave realism at the door! This exercise is all about heightened, expressive color and texture. Feel free to render an avocado in deep purple or an onion in vibrant lime green like I did, or get even wackier. Have some fun with it!
No fancy art tools? No problem! You can do this entire exercise with basic office supplies on your desk. Try a black pen, a blue pen, and a highlighter, for instance.
Nod to Prompt #5 (The Tube Stack Challenge): Remember how we used a strong contrast between a light and a dark color to define the shadows? Apply that same trick here! Use a deep, dark tone for your darkest shadows and a lighter one for the lighter cast shadows. Keep the colors really light, or let the bright tone of your paper show through, to create the highlights on the lit surfaces.
Value Meets Texture: Value and texture are best friends—where the light hits, textures pop, but in deep shadow, those details soften or disappear. Pay attention to how light reveals the surface patterns of your various fruits & veg!
Suggest, Don’t Obsess: You don’t need to draw every single dimple on a lemon or every tiny bump on an avocado skin. A few quick stippling dots or loopy hatching marks are all your brain needs to read “rough” or “bumpy.” Often, less is more!
Keep Lines Loose: Let your contour lines overlap, wobble, and stay gestural. Focus on capturing the feeling of the still life, rather than making a perfect rendering. You’re not a camera (your point of view is way more interesting)!
Why this works: It breaks us out of the trap of trying to copy reality perfectly. By giving yourself permission to use wild colors and quick, suggestive marks, you train your eye to focus on form, value, and character, which instantly makes your sketches feel more alive!
I can’t wait to see what you find in your kitchen to draw this week! Drop your sketch over in our free Skool community in the Prompts & Shares tab, so we can all marvel at the fabulously colorful textures we created.
Happy sketching,
Beth
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