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.

Johannes Torrentius, Emblematic Still Life With Flagon, Glass, Jug and Bridle (1614). Photo: Sepia Times / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

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.

Still life painting would serve as not only a vehicle for formal experimentation for Renoir but also a way to chill out. “Painting flowers is a form of mental relaxation,” the artist said ...

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.