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
Art Journal #104 – Journal Two Page Spread
One of my favorite art projects is doing a two page spread, it frees students from having to keep their ideas on just one page. To get them started I like to use a landscape artist, for this project we will use Vincent Van Gogh 1888 painting “The Sower”. Step #1: Open journal to two… Read More
Animal Drawing: Turkey
This time of year I am always looking for fun drawings drawings for Thanksgiving, I found this wonderful turkey at Art Projects for Kids. This turkey drawing is a great starting point. Step #1: I like to use watercolor paper for this project, it allows you to try a number of different mediums to create… Read More
Artist: Paul Klee – Fish People
One of my favorite artist is Paul Klee was a Swiss artist and teacher from the early 1900’s who liked to turn things he saw into simple geometric shapes. His “Fish People” is a classic example of his philosophy. Paul Klee was one of the great colorists in the history of painting. Klee grew up… Read More
Getting Started Exercise #104 – Charcoal Still Life
A great way to start drawing is to set up a simple still life and just start sketching. For this exercise I like to use vine charcoal or charcoal pencils. Step #1: Set up a simple still life with some fruit, bowl, vase ect.Step #2: Do two to three quick sketches using the charcoal.Step #3:… Read More
Getting Started Exercise #103
We all have days where we need help to get our drawing started. I like to use the number game to get my creativity going.Step 1: Make two vertical list from 1 to 9 in your art journal or on a piece of paper.Step 2: On the left side list nine animals, bugs or birds.Step… Read More
Art Journal #103 – Journal Planner
A project I like to start my art journal sessions with is the “journal planner”. This projects helps students see the six weeks in a visual form using six pages of the art journal. Step 1; Open the journal up so there is two pages in front of you. Draw a vertical line down the… Read More