Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in an art class.

旁白：请听一段艺术课讲座的节选片段。

Male professor: This week you're going to be starting something new…a painting in still-life.

教授：本周你们将开始一些新的东西……静物画。

First I wanted to give you a little background that might be helpful when you start working.

首先，我想先给你们讲一点在你们开始学习静物画是会有所助益的背景知识。

We spend a lot of time on portraits in this class, and moving from painting people to painting objects, might feel like a big shift.

我们在这门课上花了很多时间学习肖像画，从画人物到画物体，你们可能觉得这是一个很大的转变。

But I think it's important for you to understand that you can pack just as much life and vibrancy and excitement into a painting of a bowl of fruit as you can into something more dynamic.

但我认为，重要的是你要明白，你可以把生命、活力和激情尽可能多地一起融进一幅画里，画一碗水果，就像是你们可以把它们画进更加动态的东西里面一样。

And you know, still-lives don't just need to be straightforward representations…

你们知道，静物画不只是简单的呈现……

A lot of still-life painters really use the simplicity of the style to send a message, or...or tell a story.

许多静物画家真的用这种简单的风格来传达信息，或者……或者讲个故事。

Even portraits sometimes include elements of still-life paintings; for example, in a portrait there might be a map hanging on the wall, or there might be some books on a table next to the subject.

甚至肖像画有时也包含静物画的元素；例如，在一幅肖像中，可能有一张地图挂在墙上，或者在作画主体旁边可能会摆着几本书。

These objects tell you something about the subject, like, uh, maybe that person was well-educated.

这些陪衬物品可以告诉你一些关于主体的事情，比如说这个人可能受过较好教育。

A big part of still-life painting is the use of those kinds of symbols. The objects you include can provide more context and help convey your message.

静物画的重要部分之一就是使用各种象征的手法--你画作中所包含的对象可以提供更多的背景并帮助你传达信息。

I'd also like to show everyone an example of still life, that we can talk about a little and…uh, and use to get some inspiration.

我还想给大家看一个静物的例子，我们可以讨论一下，然后从中得到一些启发。

This is by James Peale, one of the true masters of the art of still-life.

这是詹姆斯·皮尔的作品，他是一位静物艺术的真正大师。

This piece is called "Still-Life: Balsam, Apple and Vegetables", and it's a really, really great example of what I'm going to be looking for in your painting.

这幅画叫《静物:香脂苦瓜和蔬菜》，它是非常好的例子，也是我（希望）能在你们的画中寻找。

Now, Peale did his work in the early nineteenth century, and painters of that period approached still-life painting from a scientific perspective.

皮尔在19世纪早期完成了这幅作品，那个时期的画家是从科学的角度来创作静物画的。

Let's look at this painting to help you understand what I mean.

我们一起看看这幅画来帮助你们理解我的意思。

See the red tomatoes in the foreground, and how vibrant that color is?

你们看，前景中的红色番茄，颜色有多鲜艳？

And if you look at the large heads of cabbage farther back, every detail, every crinkle in each leaf, all the folds, are so precise, they're almost like a sketch you'd see in a field guide.

看到后面那些卷心菜了吗？每一个细节、每一片叶子上的褶皱，都是如此精确。他们几乎就是像你们在野外指南中看到的画一样。

Peale, and other painters of his era, used still-life painting as a way of, uh, of exploring the natural world, and satisfying their curiosity about nature.

皮尔和他那个时代的其他画家，用静物画来探索自然世界，满足他们对自然的好奇心。

So now we can take some time to discuss a little more of, more about the…the actual process of still-life painting.

所以现在我们可以花时间去多讨论一些……多讨论一些……静物画实际的作画过程。

Now, before you paint a single stroke, you've got to plan the composition of your painting. You know, the arrangement of the objects to make sure everything is set up the way you want it.

现在，在你落笔作画之前，你必须计划好你的画的构图。你知道，物体的排列是为了确保一切都按你想要的方式设置好。

I remember a still-life piece I painted when I was at university.

我记得我在大学的时候画过一幅静物画。

It was vegetables, I think, and I had created sketches of the setting, but then realized that the arrangement of the vegetables in a basket just, ugh, just didn't look right…so I had to start over.

我想是蔬菜，我已经画好了背景的草图，但后来意识到，篮子里蔬菜的摆放方式，呃，看起来不太对……所以我不得不重新开始。

So I can say from experience, it's really important to make sure your arrangement is just right before you even start painting.

所以根据我的经验，在你开始画画之前，确保你的安排是正确的是非常重要的。

Now, what are some ways to make sure the composition of your painting is the way you want it to be?

现在，有什么方法可以确保你的画的构图是你想要的呢？

Well, it's important in a still life to make sure you're not overdoing the amount of positive space, the amount of stuff, in your piece.

在静物画中，重要的是要确保你的作品中没有过多的正面空间--过多的东西。

A still-life really is not just about the subject matter.

静物写生真的不只是题材问题。

If you make a really cluttered composition with too much going on, it can throw off your painting.

如果你的构图太过杂乱，会影响你的绘画效果。

That's something you notice in the James Peale painting.

这是你在詹姆斯·皮尔的画中注意到的。

Notice how it really, you know, it makes great use of negative space.

你们应该注意到他是如何……如何好好利用负面空间的。

You can see how he… sort of embraces those little empty spots on the table…and-and that adds a really nice sense of balance.

你们可以看到他是怎么把那些桌子上空着的地方纳入画面的。这就给画面增添了一种很好的平衡感。

Also, try to make your still life look natural. If it looks contrived, and if...if it's obvious a person deliberately arranged everything, it takes away from the simplicity and the natural feel of the work.

此外，尽量使你的静物画看起来自然。如果它看起来做作，如果……如果很明显是一个人故意安排每件事物，那就会破坏作品的简洁性和自然感。

Basically, the best still-life paintings are the ones where the objects don't look arranged for the painting at all, but that those tomatoes are near that cabbage on a table by accident.

基本上，最好的静物画是那些物体看起来根本不是为作画而刻意排列的，例如（在Peale这幅画里的）番茄就好像是偶然地被摆放在卷心菜旁边的一样。