There are no rules in still life. It does not have to be a carefully composed grouping of beautiful objects under perfect lighting. In this demonstration, I will be discussing my approach to a more spontaneous and unplanned subject, and my thoughts about color, paint application and design. For years I’ve been going outside to paint the landscape, which is wild and chaotic and demands editing and imagination. When I paint still life, I love to bring that same sense of discovery by foregoing carefully set up and lit arrangements in favor of scenes from around my living space, studio, garage and basement with an eye toward shape, color and composition. Getting started is the hardest part, so I remove some of the obstacles often imposed by traditional still life painting, garner a what-have-I-got-to-lose attitude, and just dive right in with what is in front of me, which can create some very lively, interesting and personal results.