Still life is about more than just the objects in front of you – composition and lighting do the heavy lifting, accounting for about 70 per cent of the impact. The rest is observation and execution.

Nearly every art student groans at the mention of still life painting. It’s often seen as a tedious exercise reserved for hyperrealists – or for those who’ve supposedly run out of ideas.

An authoritative artist has many rules for his still life painting. Too bad! Because the mouse, the dragon, the knight, and the princess are here to break them in this raucous new picture book.

An authoritative artist has many rules for his still life painting. Too bad! Because the mouse, the dragon, the knight, and the princess are here to break them in this raucous new picture book.

Art Review Still Life Painting That Is Anything But Still Judith Linhares’s works comprise just a few elements, yet they are bodied forth in endless permutations that convey both whimsy and menace.

An authoritative artist has many rules for his still life painting. Too bad! Because the mouse, the dragon, the knight, and the princess are here to break them in this raucous new picture book.