Fall classes are back in person! We just finished our first project, so I thought this would be a good time to update my neglected blog. I have a very wide age range in class right now. Hopefully, as enrollment gets back to normal, I will be able to split them up. Until then, I […]
Last week we did charcoal portraits of Surrealist artist, Salvador Dali, equally famous for both his unique paintings and his flamboyant, eccentric personality. We looked at his most famous painting, Persistence of Memory. But, our main focus was on Dali’s expressive face and mustache. We discussed facial proportions, and students were given a variety of […]
With their distinct bright red coloring, cardinals make a wonderful subject for an art project. Since I have a wide variety of ages in my classes right now, I taught two different versions of this lesson. For the younger students, I did a guided directed drawing for the cardinal. The older students drew from photographs […]
I didn’t get around to writing a Christmas gift list last year. I apologize; time got away from me. I have already had a couple of requests this year, so here it is. Good, quality materials are so important, and I am thrilled when parents ask me for advice. Don’t waste your money on poor […]
Last week we read The Magical Garden of Claude Monet by Laurence Anholt. While on a visit to Giverny, the main character, Julie, befriends Claude Monet and explores his beautiful gardens. We began our project by drawing the Japanese bridge made famous by Monet’s paintings. We used oil pastels to draw the bridge and create […]
Artsy Christmas Gift Ideas If you have an artistic kid, and you are not an artistic parent, finding the right art materials can be a challenge. There are almost always art kits available around the holidays. I would be very leery of these. Most are poor quality supplies in a pretty package. I have made […]
The first project we finished today was the futuristic cites. We discussed landscape vs city-scape and foreground, middle-ground, and background. I did a short demonstration on how to approach this drawing, beginning with the foreground and moving back in space. We discussed what a futuristic city would look like…flying cars… different architecture, and other differences […]
I love these hot air balloons by my K-2 group! They put so much work into the details. They are so bright and vivid. These were drawn with black marker, colored with crayon (white oil pastel for the clouds), and painted with both pan and liquid watercolor. Our inspiration was a book about a boy […]
The Summer Art Workshop schedule is finally ready! I am so excited about all the projects lined up for this summer. We will be offering four themes this year, all in the month of July. Workshop descriptions and dates are on the attached flyer as well as on the “Summer Workshop” section of the website. […]
This week, many of my students will be learning about Georgia O’Keeffe. She dreamt of becoming an artist in a time in America when women couldn’t vote, and female artists were unheard of. She followed her inner voice, pursued her dream, and became one of the earliest recognized female artists. I can only touch on […]
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