Sunday, December 30, 2012

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

                                     
(Samantha, 13) - Gorgeous!


Over the Winter Break I'm offering two 1-day themed art classes. The first was Winter Wonderland Art. Since we live in Orange County, this class may be the closest thing to snow the kids might experience this winter. (Although many take advantage of our great snow destinations in Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and Mammoth.) My age range was a bit daunting ...5-13. But I think I chose projects wisely to please, entertain and challenge. The first was the classic and beloved printed birch trees. I have seen this done so many ways and it just doesn't get old in my book. Color mixing, perspective, shading ... it has it all. These were created with liquid watercolors, black acrylic paint prints using using cardboard, splattered snowfall and shadows using charcoal or watercolor.



Next, my group looked at this wonderful wolf illustration from Etsy. We followed a direct line drawing lesson and then used Sharpie, Charcoal and their choice of media to add color (marker, oil pastel, or watercolor). Lastly, they added a watercolor background and printed snowfall using the backs of paintbrushes with white acrylic.They are all so different and wonderful! We packed quite a bit into a 2 hour class. Thanks to you kids for working so nicely together and bringing your "A" game. I loved my morning with you all!











Monday, December 24, 2012

HO HO HO....


Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas! 
Enjoy your time spent with family and friends!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Indian Elephant Festival Posters



























My Animal Art Fun class left the savannas of Africa after our tiger and zebra art pieces and traveled to India to create these colorful posters celebrating The Elephant Festival held annually in Jaipur. The children created their pieces in layers: chalk pastel backgrounds, decorative painted borders and of course their front and center elephant. These were shaded with chalk pastel and then decorated with colorful acrylics. And of course I added a picture of the artist riding their own creation. (Thanks to my husband for his great suggestion) These make me smile kids! (Ages 6-10)

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Zebras with Watercolor and Salt Landscapes




















This project was inspired by some wonderful cut and torn landscapes at  Angela Anderson Art Blog and New City Arts.

Since I'm in the middle of my Animal Art Fun class I decided to utilize the colorful textured watercolor backgrounds against the graphic look of a black and white zebra. My class created the backgrounds first using a variety of liquid watercolors. They had the opportunity to use sponges and salt to create unique textures. The magic of salt always seems to win out - it's highly addictive! The children followed a direct line drawing lesson to create their zebras using Sharpies and/or black paint. While we looked at pictures of African Savannas for inspiration for the landscapes, most of my students preferred a clean lined graphic background as opposed to a more literal landscape created using torn paper. I love the results! Well done kids! (Ages 6-10)