Aiden completed his drawing of the espresso pot. Even though he started the drawing in the upper left corner of the paper and was not able to fit the entire pot in his composition, he found a creative way to section it off with borders. It is an excellent drawing in its proportions and shading! On the same page, he started his teapot drawing that expands the width of the composition. I love that Aiden is showing more confidence in his drawing ability and is expanding his creativity. Bravo, Aiden!

Cam is continuing to explore abstract expressionism. Today he painted on four panels to equal a 24” x 36” composition. He chose black, white, and greys to create his painting. We discussed his use of depth: certain values and shapes recede into space, and others are in the foreground. He also used good directional forces with his lines. Overall, his composition was very unified. Good work, Cam!

Teddy has successfully completed the color wheel with primary, secondary, and tertiary colors and understands color mixing. Teddy created a landscape painting that looked like a Helen Frankenthaler painting! He started with a primary color scheme, and then he created a beautiful teal green and created tints (color + white) of that teal and shades of red (red + black). Great work, Teddy!

Cam is painting on paper until his canvas roll arrives. Using two sheets of 18" x 24" drawing paper, Cam chose an analogous color scheme of greens and then added pops of orange for contrast. He mixed complementary colors orange and blue to create a neutral that worked well in his compositions. He wants to continue to explore his abstract expressionist painting. He is doing very well in this direction, and I support his artistic endeavors! Bravo, Cam!

Aiden’s espresso pot drawing is quite exquisite! He has paid close attention to details, and his line is descriptive and skillful. He wants to continue to work on it. I told him he should be very proud of his drawing!

Today our Lower School artists created their color wheels in paint. We started with our three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue, and they created secondary and tertiary colors on a color wheel activity for their art notebooks. Well done, artists!

I set up a still life of an espresso pot and a tea pot and gave Remington watercolor paper, pencils, and watercolor paints. Remington painted both the espresso pot and tea pot. Then he painted a tomato that he turned into a crab. He is fearless in his creation! We loved the espresso pot, so we cut it out, paired it with a coffee cup drawing, and glued both on a heavy white board. The espresso pot and coffee cup artwork along with the crab artwork are hanging on the Brag Wall. Super work, Remington!

I set up a still life with fruit, vegetables, eggs, tea pot, espresso pot, and ceramic pitcher emphasizing shapes in space: ovals, circles, triangles, and rectangles.

I had pencils and watercolors for Libby to recreate the still life. She drew and painted the tea pot and then was inspired by an illustrated cookbook I have in class. She drew and painted a coffee cup and a fried egg. Good work, Libby!

On Friday of last week, Cam discovered his love for abstract expressionist painting. Today, I showed Cam a short art history video about Jackson Pollock's work in relation to the modern post-war world and his artistic process. We talked about how each new era in history needs it own language to relate to it. I had a drop cloth and canvas for Cam to work. He created a beautiful abstract expressionist painting by flinging and dripping paint much like Pollock did. I told him that he needs to know how very talented he is, and I want him to keep painting. I see Cam's artistic gift and truly believe he could be a very successful artist if he pushes himself!

I gave Teddy watercolor paper, watercolor paints, brushes, and a bucket of water and told him that we were creating a landscape painting. Teddy wanted to create a landscape with the ocean, a sunset, and a tree. He self-discovered that yellow and blue made green on his paper! He is fearless in his approach! He created a beautiful landscape in watercolor that reminded me of a Georgia O'Keeffe landscape. Well done, Teddy!