Category: Blog

  • 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

  • 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