Art Lesson: Rectangle of Destiny

 

Lesson for 9th grade, 6 weeks, acrylics or gouache

Above: Kotoko and Maxine develop their paintings, inspired by the styles and colors inside their rectangles. Students did a few days of color mixing exercises at the start of this project. Beyond color mixing, they leveled-up their composition skills and visual storytelling skills during this project.

Art Lesson: Botanical Abstract Paintings

Lesson for 9th or 10th, 5 weeks, acrylic

20 More Days of Portraiture

 

Lesson for 9th grade,  15-20 days, charcoal on toned paper

By now the students had made 7 practice drawings (described in Part 1), and they were ready for the big one. It was on toned paper. They used paper towel for blending and sometimes a small watercolor brush. They'd first hatch, then blend with brushes. 

I don't know that it really took them 20 days, I think it was more like 16-17, not sure. During that time, I kept repeating the commandment: Edges, not outlines! Outlines would have made drawings like these look amateurish. Most students (though not all) sidestepped that landmine and produced successful works. 4 students showed me photos of where they framed and hung these drawings in their homes.

Unfortunately, some students missed my demo on how to spray with fixative. Two students got their fingers into the spray and thus left big drips on their work, as you'll see below.