Hi

I'm sorry to bother you with this but I'm really stuck for ideas.

I'm an A-level art student (this is sounding incredibly cliché already isn't it?) and I've just been given a project brief about still life - nothing more specific, just still life. I'm hoping to be able to do a final piece which is a bit more 3-D or sculptural than the paintings and drawings that the others in my class seem to be headed towards.

The only problem I have with this, is that I need to research another artists work which would appear to naturally inspire my final piece.

So does anybody know of any artists I could research who have at some point focused on still life but in a format which is more akin to where I'm hoping to go with my project?

Anything you could suggest would be greatly appreciated.

Clare

Since you are posting on a forum which uses lime plaster, I should point out there is an art form, now lost, where you hand model a type of lime plaster into a bas relief. The driving force was decorative and was common throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In Europe this was called 'stucco' before this word got switched to its modern usage. The stuccotares were in higher demand than painters, because the end product looked like expensive carved stone and could be done in place.

You could practise with hydrostone or drystone plaster (the hardest plasters) but you have to 'retard' the cure. Ask you local plaster/gypsum dealers for these items. The plaster is too fast otherwise.

The plaster and lime can take color but what looks nice is a light coat of red shellac and then use a paste wax tinted white - wait for it to dry then hand buff it to a light shine.

there are not many picture on the internet - I have many of my own

here is one website to give you a rough idea what it looks like - 300 years old though:

<http://www.skillington.org/decorative_plasterwork.htm>

Dear Clare
You could find a lot of depictions of still life in the inspiring works of Vincent van Gogh. His works are readily available on the Internet !
...Hope that my message does not turn out to be 'carrying coals to Newcastle'!
Best of Luck in all your endeavours.

INDYMAD