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When you are planning a still life, it is similar to doing a preliminary value sketch. In your composition, you will want the object of interest to be off-center and the light and dark values simplified and large. I am going to use one of James Frederick’s pastel still life to point out a few helpful tips for you.

(1) Pick a center of interest. In this case, the center of interest is the bronze tea pot painted off center.

(2) Balance the composition with other objects around the center of interest. In this case every object helps balance the painting. Notice the importance of the book at the extreme right. Without it, the painting would tilt to the left.

(3) Variety is very important to any still life. In this case James has eleven different objects (or shapes) in the painting. Please note the wise use of the grapes. He chose a variety of grapes of a different color to make the painting more interesting.

(4) Use a well composed area of light and dark to keep the focal point interesting. In this case, James painted a dark value background and a light value foreground. The interesting use of a plate behind the other objects not only helped the overall balance of the painting but directed the viewers eyes immediately to the area of interest.