Urban Sketching

My Sweet Baboo gave me a wonderful book for Valentines Day; The Art of Urban Sketching. Featuring Norfolk's own Walt Taylor, it introduces the idea of sketching while traveling or around your own town, as a way to chronicle your adventures. It's a bit like journaling with pictures. Why take photos when you can quickly sketch a place and moment in time? Urban sketchers from around the world have even connected on the internet. They share tips, stories and their drawings at urbansketchers.org. Their slogan is "See the world one drawing at a time". I'm sure you can see where this is heading...lesson plan!!!! My older artists learned a bit about this art form, and Walt Taylor specifically, and then we headed outside to capture our surroundings with pencil and paper.

The first step is choosing your subject. Even the most mundane scene can be interesting when sketched.

Laura - Age 7

Careful observation is key. We talked a lot about drawing what you see, not what you THINK you see. It's important to include as much detail as possible, but to draw quickly. We didn't have much luck with moving targets like people and squirrels.

I thought this was a great rendering of the lamp post and handrail!  Jackson - Age 7

Andrew - Age 6

Urban sketchers often include the date, place and even time of their sketch, to record not only what they saw, but when and where. What a great way to continue creating long into adulthood!

He's sneaky, that guy.

For Youth Art Month I've been teaching an after school program at my daughters' former elementary school. I've spent the last three Mondays painting and cutting and glueing and generally having a ball with 22 second and third graders. In these three weeks I've gotten to know some new kids, at least a little bit. I have an idea who can really, really draw and does it all the time, who is a boundary pusher and who stays strictly inside the lines. But one little guy had me fooled.

He's very quiet, almost invisible. He has a brother in the class and they stick close together. He carefully draws the details of a flower and then paints it rainbow colors with abandon. Last Monday he wore a hoodie, hood up, all afternoon. Whatever. I'm not about to cramp his style, though he did look a little like the Unibomber crouched over his art. When I complemented his work and asked questions he answered in his usual, shy way.

But then....then, as he's rushing out the door after class he suddenly turns back. With a big grin he gets right up in my face and says "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Today I'm dressed as my favorite graffiti artist....Bansky!"

And he is gone.

I sure hope Bansky comes back next Monday. It's rare to actually see him.

A+ Summer Camps for 2012

It's that time again! Summer camp info is available below (for snazzy, jazzy flyer) and in the Art Camps tab to the right.  Registration is OPEN!

WANTED!

Highly Motivated Young Artists in 4th - 6th Grades

Who Want to Study Art in an Open Studio Setting

Fridays 4:00 to 5:00

Beginning March 2nd

Classes will begin with a sketchbook activity then students will work on their own, self-selected piece at their own pace. Student creations will be highlighted in the annual art show, June 3rd.

10 Class Sessions for $130

(That gives you 3 free Fridays between now and June!)

Additional sessions are $10

One-Time Materials/Registration Fee of $30  for New Students

Contact Melanie at otlartstudio@gmail.com or 757/472-6483 to register!

The Resemblance Is Uncanny

This is me...

...clearly and without question. Those of you who know me will recognize this at a glance. The long, flowy hair. The coy smile. The "beautiful dress". I float through the air as in a Chagall painting. Which is true. I often float. The fact that this was intended to be a very, very, sad "blue period" painting is of no matter. The artist is three and I imagine it's hard to pretend "sad" for very long when you're three. I did give them silver paint which made their wash water sparkly. How sad could they stay?

Starry Nights

I don't often post the results of projects, but these landscapes turned out so beautifully I can't resist. We studied Vincent Van Gogh, looked closely at the texture he created with his palette knife and discussed his use of colors in Starry Night. Then we dipped chalk pieces into tempera paint to approximate that depth and variation of color in our own landscapes. The instructions were there had to be a horizon line, at least one wavy cypress tree and at least one celestial body. Other than that, no rules. My intention was for the project to be just paint and chalk, but the effect wasn't quite what I'd hoped for. Once the paint dried we came back and added swirls and details with oil pastels. That's more like it! These works are by students aged 6 - 11. Enjoy!

Process versus Product

Paper Plate Projects
Which one shows the child's creativity? Which one was more FUN to make?
(Thank you to PreK and K Sharing)

Outside the Lines Young Artists' Studio is all about process. I try very hard to remember that if I'm doing my job right, many pieces created will not be frame or even refrigerator worthy in an adult's eyes. Often, more is learned by making a 'mess' than by making a giraffe. I say "I try very hard" because it is not easy to get a clear picture of the childhood experience through grown up eyes. You have to let some expectations go, remembering that kids, especially the very young, don't have any expectations at all. 

I ran across this blog entry at PreK and K Sharing that explains the process/product conundrum very well. It's where I got the paper plate image above and I hope you'll click through and read the article. You have to scroll down a bit and there's some "teacher speak" to wade through, but it is a nice explanation of why I do what I do.