Animal Drawing: Great Horned Owl
One the favorite birds for students to draw is the owl, in this lesson we are inspired by wildlife artist Robert Bateman. Great Horned Owl does not really have “horns” but tall tufts of feathers. When disturbed, the owl raises the tufts and sits very still so it can blend into the tree bark and… Read More
Holiday Tree Landscape
A perfect project for this time of year is abstract holiday tree landscapes. Materials; 140lb watercolor paper, oil pastels, acrylic paint wash, gel medium, tissue paper and white-out are optionalHow to make Acrylic Paint Wash; Use 2 parts water to one part Acrylic paintMix in gel medium gloss Step #1: Draw a wavy line about… Read More
Animal Drawing: Reindeer
One of my favorite illustrators is Sachiko Umoto, who has several great books on plants, people and animals. I am using her wonderful reindeer for our inspiration. Both male and female reindeer have antlers, which they shed every winter by the males and the spring by the females.Step #1: Draw the head , eyes, nose,… Read More
Getting Started Exercise #105 – Observational Drawing
A exercise that helps me get started drawing is a continuous line observational drawing. One of the most famous continuous line artist is Paul Klee, he loved to do continuous line work of fish, birds, people and cats. For this exercise i am inspired by Paul Klee and use a wooden cat for my drawing…. Read More
Animal Drawing: Sleeping Panda Bear
One of the most requested animals students like to draw is the panda bear. This project is a sleeping panda bear. Step #1: Start with some light pencil guidelines one down the center and one across the middle. Then place a large oval just above the center guideline for the panda’s head.Step #2: Add the… Read More
Art Room Aid – Blick Art Materials
Blick Art Room Aid is a program the Blick Art Materials started this fall building community and supporting creativity. School’s, art centers and individuals can get aid for art projects. You post the art project you need help with art materials, with a description and the art materials needed to complete the project. The project… Read More
Artist: George Rodrigue “Blue Dog”
George Rodrigue is a Cajun artist who grew up in New Iberia, Louisiana. He is known for his creation of the Blue Dog series of paintings, featuring a blue-hued dog, attributed to his deceased boyhood dog named Tiffany. The blue-hued, ghostly spaniel/terrier is often featured with a white nose and yellow eyes. In this lesson… Read More
Artist: Picasso Thanksgiving Turkey
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I like to go through my turkey projects. One of the most fun and creative projects is the Picasso Turkey. Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973) was one of the most prolific artists ever, and one of his many contributions was the co-founding cubism, the idea of looking at something… Read More
Artist: Modigliani Portraits
One of my favorite portrait artist is Amedeo Modigliani (1884 – 1920). Modigliani was a late-18th century European artist who never lived to see his success, but his paintings are some of my all-time favorites. I love his portraits with elongated faces in soulful colors. Modigliani drew his faces in stretched proportions. Step #1: First… Read More
Getting Started: Charcoal Self Portraits
I like to use charcoal self portraits to get my drawing started. The reason artist self portraits have been so popular for centuries is that they always had a willing subject.I like to use soft vine charcoal on sketch paper for the project. Step #1: Use a small hand mirror or compact mirror to study… Read More