Birds' nests, boots, flowers, fruits and utensils - Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogfa is probably best known for his landscapes and portraits but it is his still life, Sunflowers (p.156), that really persists in the popular mind. Painters often use still life as a recourse to expression when other means are blocked, perhaps due to bad weather or the lack of a model. Again, when the mind is struggling for focus, the ability to put down a still life can be the quickest way to resolve the problem. It is not difficult to gather a few everyday objects together and arrange them, with some consideration of lighting and background, into an agreeable composition for painting.