Homefront Art Class 29

really enjoyed this experiece. cried many tears

of joy on my rides home from class. 'll let the art
tell the rest of the story...

Drawing the Air
Positive and Aegative space
Students were taught the importance of negative
space or ground. t is just as important as the
figure. had them draw the spaces in the chair
rather than the chair itself. was amazed at how
well they picked up on this concept and were able
to put their right brains to work.

Kurt
Age: 9
Notice there are no lines here
between the parts of the chair.
That is because He drew the "spaces

Rebecca
Age: 10

Sophia
Sophia did draw the chair first as
ndicated by the lines between parts
of the chair. She did however
indicate the negative space by
coloring it black.

While Emily's drawing is not
an accurate representation of
the chair, she did grasp the
concept of drawing the
negative space. This is a
great step toward seeing the
way an artist sees and using
the right brain.

Impressionism
Students were given an overview if the
impressionist period. showed, critiqued, and
compared works of Monet, Seurat, and Degas.
The students painted from photographs of their
choosing. Two students decided to copy a
masters' work.
was encouraged by the level of enthusiasm.
Each student really tried to paint the way an
impressionist might.

Bethany
Age: 10
mpressionist painting
Lighthouse Sunset
April 2009
What striking colors!
Bethany has taken a typically
stable, clich subject and given
it real life. The lighthouse
becomes less important as we
are drawn to the dramatic play
of the evening light.
(Something Monet would do)
The angle of view adds interest
in a way that keeps us occupied
but not uneasy. challenge you
to look away from this painting.
This is a keeper!

Kelsy
Age: 12
mpressionist painting
Sunset
April 2009
Kelsy's technique painting the water is true to the impressionist style.
The painterly style of aggressively applying the paint and letting the colors blend on the
Painting's surface is evident.

Seurat's Pointilism meets
VanGogh's fiery colors. t takes
real patience to lay down color
one dot at a time. All the colors
here are bright. Normally
would be worried that it would
overwhelm, but not here. The
field of blue is even and vast,
the colors are in large blocks,
and our attention is drawn by
the complimentary contrast in
the lower middle. The
brightness is offset by the
simple shapes.
Autumn
Age: 13
mpressionist painting
Fall Trees
April 2009

Faith
Age: 8
mpressionist painting
After Seurat
April 2009
This is a work in progress. am encouraged once again by the drawing. Faith has
drawn directly with the paint. There is no pencil sketch underneath. 'm looking forward
to seeing this piece finished.

Much more beautiful than the photo she
worked from. love that the hills in the
background are not green or is it a fiery
fall sky? - you decide. Striking colors
and clearly thoughtful, diligent work.
Tree and Fence
Carolynn
Age 13

Hannah did a great job of 'seeing.'
Notice the vertical tree in the back. t
is more grey than the others. Many
untrained adults might not have picked
up on this in the photo and just painted
all the trees black and white
Birch Trees
Hannah
Age 8

Hayley was a brave one. gave students the option of working from a photograph or
copying a master. Only two students chose this route. The painting by Monet was THE
one. The term "mpressionism was used by a critic as a derogatory remark describing
this painting. What the critic did not understand was Monet's interest in studying light and
color, and how they relate. This was my charge to my students. Paint what you see not
what you know. Haley's impression of an impression is spot on.
Sunrise - after Monet
Hayley
Age 10

Garden Chair
Shannon
What a great subject. The
complimentary contrast of the red
chair against the green foliage really
draws you in.

A wonderful example of mixing colors wet-on-wet. watched as Grace added yellow to
the white in the falls. The subtle highlights on the flowers are a nice touch. Grace has a
keen eye for what is really there.
Tahquamenon Falls
Grace
Age 13

Easter
This was the first project where the students had
real freedom. The idea here was to explore the
concept of creativity. wanted to show them they
could express an idea in ways they may not have
thought of before and spark the interest of the
viewer. am pleased with the results. This
project really shows the student's individuality.

Autumn
Age: 13
While Autumn chose a common
image, she portrayed it from a
different vantage point. have not
discussed this with her in detail
yet. think maybe she wanted to
avoid the obvious grotesque
nature of the crucifixion. Or
perhaps show how Christ may
have seen God's promise.
Perhaps seeing God's glory right
before having to be disconnected
from the Him would help carry him
through?

Easter Tears
Bethany
Age: 10
Bethany again uses intense
color. Notice how the colors are
more intense and contrasting
near the cross and more tonal
away from it. The "tears guide
our eye down then the sharp
angle of brown leads us to the
cross. The cross is not bold at
all but the composition makes it
impossible to miss. Are these
tears of sorrow or tears of joy?
Bethany pours out her soul yet
leaves room for some self-
discovery on the viewer's part.

What is the girl meditating on as she sits with her Bible on the Rock?
Rebecca did a great job of making her art personal and also a scene we
can all relate to on some level. Notice the rock's shadow is not black.
The Rock
Carolynn
Age 13

"t is an altar of fire, like in the Old Testament. - Josiah
like that Josiah was able to stretch his thought process and go to the Old
Testament. What a great way to explore Easter.
Sacrifice
Josiah
Age 8

Crucifixion
Justin
Age 10
"Those wicked nails that held him
there on that cruel cross.
They mocked and Laughed at Him.
They thought he was just a man.
But in the end they found that He was
the Son. - Justin

Other Christian 1hemes
We started with the concept of Baptism and the
students' imaginations just refused to be limited.

Whale
Sienna
Age 7
Another work created from the 'bubble'
exercise. This work was inspired by
creation. Sienna took artistic license
with the whale's color. 'm glad she
did. magine the drab color of a grey
or blue whale in blue water. much
prefer the bright, exciting compliment
of orange against blue!

Peace
Grace Age 13
"First the girl takes the basketball from the other girl, instead of getting her own. Than
she realizes that it was wrong of her, and goes and gets to be her friend. Than she goes
to church, and gets baptized, and becomes born again in Christ, and is a Christian, too!
Great Storytelling Grace!

Transformation
Kevin
Age 9
"First it's a horrible creature, then
it jumped up, and through a portal,
transforming into the Christian
fish, and finally it's the Christian
fish. - Kevin
A great creative concept based on
the rite of baptism and
symbolizing being born again.
This idea came about during a
"bubbles brainstorming exercise.
Start at the lower left and move
clockwise.

Flower
Joshua Age: 7
This one amazes me. Joshua really was able to transfer to his right brain for this. The
drawing is quite accurate for his age. Most children his age are using their symbol system,
He still does sometimes but clearly not here. He is learning.

More Aext Year!
Thank you to the parents for the privilege of
teaching your children.
Thank you to all my students for your hard work.