Still lifes can be highly arranged sets of objects, casual arrangements, or haphazard groupings. Or an artist might choose to paint/draw a solitary object. If the work of art is created from life, the artist generally chooses objects that will not move, change, or deteriorate within the time period needed to finish.

In trompe l'oeil still lifes, some sort of planar surface is convincingly painted facing the viewer, and objects are carefully rendered as if they are attached to or suspended from this surface.

Artists might choose to paint/draw a still life in order to spend time in appreciative contemplation of beautiful plants, flowers, objects, etc. Sentimentality for old objects might motivate a still life. Objects might be gathered for ironic purposes, pop-culture reference, shock value, or for no reason at all. Objects might be arranged to tell a story about the owner(s) of the objects. Finally, an artist might choose this genre as a vehicle for aesthetic expression, emphasizing abstraction, mark making, distortions, and/or palette exploration.

Featured: Fruit Piece by Jan van Huysum.