Artist Study: Berthe Merisot Flower Still Life

 

"A love of nature is a consolation against failure."

~Berthe Merisot, 1841-1895

Directed drawing made desirable, by giving loose instructions and loads of freedom. 

1. Start by presenting the framed paper and chalk (or oil) pastels. Encourage students to find a tabletop line somewhere around the bottom 1/4 of the page and then a rough pencil-in for a vase. 

2. From there encourage them to choose bright, warm colours to overlap circles over the vase mouth-some large and several small. Choose some dark and light greens as well as colours you would not think to use: purple, pink, blue, to highlight a few leaves to fill in spaces around flowers.

3. Again, using colours you would not normally choose as tabletop and background, remembering to mix in a few colours from your flower/vase selection to bring continuity. 

4. Finally outline with a dark colour; brown, blue, purple; the vase, flowers and centers, leaves and tabletop line. They were keen to draw veins in their leaves with pencil as added detail.

*When using pastels (chalk especially) take care to keep your hand lifted from the page to avoid smudging your work. This takes a little extra concentration, but also enhances your art so your lines are neither steady nor perfect.