Back to Work

View of Moloka'i from Napili

Well, after a few wonderful weeks in Maui it's back to work..........









...........I'll miss the amazing views. (this is a future painting for sure)

.........the sand in my toes

......and amazing sunsets. (can't believe we snapped this photo!)




I thought I'd show you a few of my paintings.  I've painted this point many times.......(here are a few thru the years)

2008

2010

2012

Here are a few more paintings from this trip......

I

 

But now it's back to work and continuing to post more art projects to fill out the inventory....for those of you who don't know every complete tutorial is listed in the pull down pages at the top of this blog for easy access.

See you very soon with a new bookmaking tutorial....

Parrots

Well maybe it's the fact Winter won't back down here in Calgary or that I'm dreaming of the Tropics as my annual Hawaii vacation is only 16 days away but I thought I'd post this Parrot project.

I have done this project for about 4 years now.  It is a favorite with the kids as they are amazed they can paint a parrot.  I typically do it with Grade 5 but it is applicable from Grade 4 up I think.

It is based on a Terry Madden lesson that was on PBS quite a few years ago.  I modified it for the kids and it works great.

Mini Landscapes- A lesson in Horizon Lines

Part of teaching art is dealing with concepts that can be "boring" for kids.  By this I mean all the guidelines for composition, color theory, tonal value, etc........So I'm always trying to find projects to teach them basic concepts but are a bit more fun.  When you deal with composition you are trying to instill that "artist's eye", that sense of proportion that captures attention.

One of the main guidelines for composition is the Horizon Line or if you want to get fancy "eye level line or line of sight".  I use Horizon Line as kids in Division 1 (Kindergarten to Grade 3)  quickly grasp what a horizon is, we just look out the window. (Horizon: where the sky and the earth meet)

If you ask a child to draw a horizon line, chances are they will take a piece of paper and draw a line horizontally smack dab in the middle or will use the bottom edge of the paper as their horizon line so everything tends to be "floating".

We want to teach them the rule of 3rds but me talking about it won't get their attention they need to see for themselves and this is where my mini landscapes come in.  Incidently this is an important concept for all you adult artists so give it a try.

Some of the things I collect for school are old calendars and mats.  You need both for this project.  You can also make a mat using paper strips taped together.  Take a good landscape image and ask each student to place the mat on the picture and find a good view.  Often kids choose a view with the horizon dead center.

Get them to move it around until they find a few good views.  At this point I'll bring up the "rule of 3rds", how the picture seems more captivating if the sky and land are unequal....  if the horizon is in the lower third or the upper third of the picture.  I also talk about putting an object of interest (like a tree, mountain) off center.                                                             Take some watercolor paper and divide into sections.  Here I'm using 9.5x11 paper so I'm just dividing into quarters....if your picture is larger you can have more sections.  Each area is only about 3x4 or so don't make them too large. (than it won't be a mini)

Using painter's masking tape, tape off your sections.

Select a view and start painting it.   Then move your mat around for a second view and paint it.

Keep painting 4 different views with the horizon in different proportion.  For really young kids keep it simple, blue sky, the ground, and maybe a tree.

Leave to dry fully and then remove the tape.  You can keep it as one page or cut into sections.  A good display is showcasing the series of mini landscapes with the reference photo.

After completion I ask the kids to pick their favorite view and lo and behold it is usually a horizon in the lower or upper third.  Give it a try and I'll see you next time.

Big Blue Marble

I'm back!

When I was a kid there was a show on PBS called "Big Blue Marble" and it was my first introduction into thinking globally and ecologically.

In honor of Earth Day I'm taking that big blue marble theme as a basis for some projects.

The first project is a watercolor painting project.

You need the following......

watercolor paper
paint (tempera or watercolor)
brushes
round objects for tracing
paper for mounting
glue
reference photos
pencil

Find an assortment of round objects around the house.  You want large, medium, and small sized marbles.

Using a pencil trace a bunch onto your watercolor paper.

In order to make your marble look 3 dimensional you need to add a highlight...because it is sphereical your highlight will be a concave rectangular shape.

Your highlight will be in the same place for all marbles.

Pencil in some guidelines for your "earth" marble as well.

Now you can start painting.  Don't worry about staying in the lines as you will be cutting these marbles out.  Don't be afraid to add some drops of water onto your painting to create some "blooms".

This will make yor marbles look more like glass.  Click on photo to see larger.

Paint in your Earth.  Using a kleenex you can lift out some clouds.  When it is dry you can also use a wet brush to scrub where you want a misty cloud and then blot with a kleenex.

Now when painting a sphereical shape with watercolor it helps to go back in after and lift a little paint from the center just below the highlight.  To lift use a wet brush (clear water) and scrub a little.

You also want your edges (where you penciled your circle) to be a bit darker as they are receding.  Add some darker shading.

Keep painting in all your marbles...use a reference photo to help. (search google images for marbles)

Cut out your marbles and experiment with placement before gluing.  Make sure the highlight remains in the same place for all marbles when positioning.

You can also add some pastel to create a shadow on the surface where your marbles are placed or to show the wall/floor.



That's it.  Give it atry and create your own "Big Blue Marble". 

Glue Resist Paintings

Last term I did a glue resist Dinosaur with Kindergarten.

I was impressed with the results and the kids really enjoyed seeing the Dinosaur emerge....so I decided to try this technique with a more complex painting to do with the older grades.

This Sunflower seemed to work out well but this is my second effort...I had to stop myself from painting like I usually do. Please click on photo for a closer view.




I had originally thought some architecture would show up nice but because I painted in so many details and shadows like I normally do....the glue resist effect is lost.




With this technique you need to limit your paint choices and allow the glue outline to define the painting....I will continue to fiddle with it as I am hoping I can get a stained glass effect with this technique.








Draw out your sketch in pencil....I'm using watercolor paper.








Using tacky glue outline your sketch.







Let dry.







Start painting...I'm using watercolor but you can also use tempera.

I like how the glue keeps the paint where you want it....





Here I started adding more detail....the glue stands out more with dark colors.





I went back over my Sunflowers with additional water to create more of a wash...much more effective.


Well tomorrow is the first day of school...excitement is in the air, my oldest starts Junior High so I will no longer see her at the school during the day. (although I am excited for her I will miss her)

I am looking forward to creating lots of new projects and I hope you tag along.

later

gail