Setting up a New Still Life

Items I gathered to create new still life setups

Here is a setup that I think has many wonderful elements. It should work well, composition and color....can't wait to paint this one! 

I paint from my own still life compositions.  I often gather many wonderful objects I've collected over the years.  I'll buy fruit, and or flowers, then spend a few days photographing the still life setups.  For convenience, and flexibility, I take pictures of my larger setups.  Since I have space restraints in my studio, it works well for me.  Sometimes I will have a strong idea of what items I want to bring together, or have a theme I want to work with.  Creating a good composition is the hard part.  It's one of the biggest challenges I continue to work through as an artist.  A few months ago I gathered items for new compositions.  I thought I would share some pictures with you.  You can see a little bit of my process.