The Art Lady

  I saw this artwork by Valerie Davide (UK artist) on Pinterest. It was my inspiration for creating this artmaking activity. I thought it was a fun way of learning about perspective and exploring the different ways we see things.    It also gave me the opportunity to do an artwork with charcoal blocks, charcoal pencils and an eraser.    We will learn about perspective and one-point perspective before we commence our artwork. We will also look at the artist, Valerie Davide, and discuss her drawing technique. Davide artworks are also excellent examples of line and tone.     I found a variety of wide angle photographs on the net and DESATURATED them in Photoshop. Turning the images monochromatic will help students determine where they need to apply light (using an eraser) and dark tones in their drawing.    It will be strongly emphasised that the artwork is not about realism. If their drawing...

   Not sure this is a Mondrian Tree.......don't really like it that much....      I am going through my Mondrian-stage at the moment....hopefully it will wear off soon.  I thought we would look at some more Abstract Art and Mondrian's trees seemed a little less daunting for a young child than other abstract art "subjects".    We will be using oil pastels and then applying baby oil with a cotton bubs (q tips) to create a sense of the artwork being an oil painting. I used this technique many years ago and thought it would be fun with my students. They really love making artworks with non-traditional media. PROCEDURE: 1. Discuss with students how Mondrian's tree paintings changed in style from realistic to abstract. Large images of artworks to view with a laminated information sheet for each student.    2. Discussion about how Mondrian applied the paint to his artworks - thick, lumpy, directional, etc. 3. Mater...

   I thought I was being clever when I thought of this idea but discovered when I went onto the net to get some Mondrian information, that I am way behind. Oh well.    Anyway, I forged ahead and created this artwork for my students to do in 2018. Casual teaching is coming to a close for me this year. Time to get ready for Christmas, Aussie style!!!!! (Apologises for the flare caused by the lamination of the artworks)          

   Today (21.11.17) I got all prepared to teach the Sharpies with alcohol  artwork to a Year 1/2 class but got to school to discover I had left the Sharpie markers at home. So I modified the Steps. PROCEDURE: 1. We traced around the head, shoulders and shirt with a black marker. 2.We then drew lines from the head and shoulders out to the edge of the artwork. 3. Students then added in some shapes to each section. Next time I do this, I will specify how many shapes need to be drawn in each section. Some students drew the shapes so small it would have been impossible to get the artwork done in 3 days let alone 3.5 hours. 4. They then coloured in each section and shapes with the Posca pens and metallic markers. 5. When this was done, I drew around the chin, nose, eyes, eyebrows and mouth for each student. I also added white Posca pen to the eyes and teeth. 6. Students then traced over all black marker lines in the background to re-establish t...

   Here are some examples of what students did today. It was unfortunate that we didn't get to finish most of the artworks but some things take priority at this time of the year - like finishing off projects presentations, etc. Report writing time is here.    The students really enjoyed drawing symbols directly onto gum leaves and using Posca pens and metallic markers. They had never seen nor heard of this equipment before. The students were Year 3/4, ages 8 and 9.     I will definitely be doing this artwork again.......hope you like the artworks.....        This artwork above was completed by a student who has some learning difficulties but he was so over-the-moon with his achievement. He worked really well ALL DAY and was so super proud. Its things like that,  that make teaching such a joy......