Early Finisher Projects

"Mega Bugs" in oil and chalk pastel

Via Pinterest

My example - Sharpie and Chalk Pastel

Fauvist Hedge Parsley Landscapes

My art classes run 1 1/2 hours now. And of course, we all have our own pace. Some kids just want to blow through things, some are content to work on one piece throughout the class, and some just naturally work at a faster pace. Here are a few projects created by some early finishers who wanted to do more than just "free draw" or "free paint."

Celestino Piatti Inspired Owls

Liberty - 7

Samantha 7

Daniella 9

Abby 9

Scott 6

Alexander 6

"The Happy Owls" 1963

I was "pinning" away a couple weeks ago and came across some very cute owls by graphic artist, Celestino Piatti. This art class session, my challenge has been to have art projects appropriate for a wide age range (grades K thru 4th). I thought this would work well for the group. I created two versions of owl pairs. The first is done using cotton balls triple dipped in white, brown and black to create the look of feathers. For the second piece, I had an extra board left over from my Statue of Liberty project painted with primary colored stripes(and I am uber-thifty and love to re-use and recycle). I drew a pair of owls right on top, painted the wings purple, and outlined everything with black using s small brush. This week my class chose between the two or could use both techniques. They created their compositions and laid down their color and then traced over all their lines with oil pastel or black paint. (They didn't share my enthusiasm for creating delineated feathered wings and opted to keep them simple - and of course they are wonderful as is :)

Peter Max Inspired Statue of Liberty

The above pieces were created by children 5-9

Tempera with Charcoal

Chalk Pastel and Charcoal

Step One - Pastel

Last week I saw these wonderful Peter Max inspired Statue of Liberty paintings on We Heart Art. They are full of energy and personality. I tried two versions, one with chalk pastel and the other, tempera. I laid down the chalk pastel in bright colors smearing with my finger but not being concerned about how the statue would play out on top. I took Joanna's cue with the paint version and used only primary colors. Once dry I used charcoal to draw a simple graphic version of Lady Liberty, smearing lightly with my finger. I highlighted these lines with white oil pastel. I added a few extra "scribbles" of color to mimic the energy of Max's work.

We Will Never Forget

Over a year ago I did a project based on Eric Carle inspired cityscapes. I encouraged the children to fill their page with buildings and sky scrapers. A 1st grade boy created this piece and was very content with his two buildings. It really struck me at the time as the Twin Towers with a fiery sky. Of course this is my history and I'm sure he knew nothing about that horrible day.

Today I have watched some of the memorials and stories of the heroes of 9/11 and heard over 3000 motorcycles ride down Pacific Coast Highway in a tribute parade. And I'm sure like many of you I am immediately transported back to that day, recounting exactly what I was doing as I watched in horror as the events unfolded. And today I found myself explaining this day in history to my daughter who was still growing inside me.

Leroy Neiman Inspired Lions

Alexa wanted to create a "girl lion" and wanted no part of the expressive brushstrokes :)

Since I am a private art teacher and not required to follow any particular curriculum I was all over the map as to what my first "fall" art lesson would be. I found myself "pinning away"all types of lessons and ideas. (Yes, I too have been bitten by the bug, diving and weaving between boards, pinning things related to art, marvelous recipes, beautiful interiors, profound quotes ect... Pinterest is the ultimate resource for the visually inclined person. If you're interested, you can follow me here.)

For whatever reason, I decided to do lion faces. I had planned on a more realistic approach until I saw some fabulous Leroy Neiman inspired lions on Artsonia. (Here is Mr. Neiman's Lion.)I have definitely been on a Fauvist kick lately. Also I have ages 5 through 9, so I thought it would be a great inclusive project. After a step by step lesson of the facial features, the children used acrylic and tempera with bold expressive strokes to create their lions. We talked about trying to avoid mixing complimentary colors since they would create a brown muddy look we were trying to avoid with this particular project.Last, some chose to use Sharpie or paint to outline their facial features.

Mixed Media Romero Britto

A while back I did a Picasso inspired mixed media Cubist Rooster. During this art session I plan to do a similar project inspired by Romero Britto. Using pieces of scrapbook paper (phonebook pages, wrapping paper, and textured paper scraps are also options) the children will cut random shapes repeating patterns around their paper. After these are glued down a simple vase of flowers or other bold design is drawn in Sharpie. Shapes are painted with acrylics or tempera and some are left alone showing the paper. Graphic lines dividing up the background are added. The last step is to paint over all lines using a small brush or go over lines with a black oil pastel. More to post soon.