Cartabella Art Notes

2010-07-05T14:12:00.007-04:00

INTERMEZZO LADIES are back in the studio! We're attempting a looser style, learning to "let go" and let the watercolor flow! Months devoted to practice and learning, we're more confident about facing that blank white canvas. We're ready to trust some intuitive decisions regarding color choices, brush size, mixture of pigments, and various techniques.

As you can see from these images, each one of us are showing improvement. We all enjoyed doing our personal interpretation of this mysterious lady gazing into a secret garden.

2010-07-05T14:05:00.003-04:00

SAFARI ART CAMP, DAY 1
My first Safari theme classes were adventuresome! We worked with techniques and mediums new to me and to the young artists. For example, we mixed sand into the tempera paint and used sticks instead of brushes so that our paintings would look "primitive".

Can you guess what we used to make all of the dots and circles on our snake painting on brown paper bags? We used Q-tips! Try it with acrylics or tempera.

Every day was an adventure with drawing and painting projects. It was fun to "draw from life" so many different carved wooden animals from Kenya. We learned some interesting, facts, too, about God's wild animal creatures.

2010-07-05T14:00:00.003-04:00

SAFARI ART CAMP. Day 2

2010-07-05T13:41:00.007-04:00

SAFARI ART CAMP, Day 3.

2010-06-04T21:23:00.009-04:00

EARLY SUMMER NATURE STUDIES. KinderArt students enjoyed gathering nature study items in brown bags. The combination of mosquitos and high humidity forced us back inside to make sketches of leaves, twigs, rocks and flowers we found in the garden by the pond. One student brought Jack, her pet frog, and let the other students observe and draw a real-live-frog! We are compiling our Nature Study drawings in a portfolio.

2010-06-02T20:30:00.000-04:00

SKETCHING OUTDOORS. Taking classes into God's outdoor studio stirs up a child's innate creativity. Take your sketch tablet and pencil + eraser and walk out the door! You could also bring a viewfinder with you--we'll explore their uses in another blog. On this particular day we were working on a landscape scene with the pond in our backyard, trying to factor in the large trees in the foreground and a gazebo in the background across the bond.

2010-05-01T10:42:00.003-04:00

FLOWERS STUDIES. A favorite theme in our paint studio sessions! Whether we use watercolors or oil pastels, a limited palette or a full palette, children are drawn to the harmonious color combinations and design patterns found in petals and leaves.

2010-04-27T11:14:00.004-04:00

COLORBURSTS. "I saw God wash the world last night," says the poet. April Showers certainly do bring brilliant colors into our world. Our cozy CartaBella cottage has had the front glass door open all week to let in the sunshine and the "local color"! No wonder my KinderArt students wanted to go outside and sketch!

2010-04-27T11:02:00.007-04:00

WE GET TO GO OUTSIDE! Finally, a KinderArt day without cold, wind or rain! Spring in Atlanta is a wonderful time to explore nature up close and personal [except for the yellow pine pollen "snow"]. These little girls wandered off to find a spot of their own and got wonder-fully "lost" in the process of observing and sketching in the cool and calm greens surrounding our cottage.

2010-04-27T10:53:00.004-04:00

DIFFERENT THINGS FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS. What do you like to draw? Chances are, when you go outside you'll find something that captures your interest. Bugs? Flowers? Bushes? Trees? Landscapes? Geese on the pond? A lawnmower?!

2010-04-09T20:10:00.005-04:00

THE COLOR WHEEL is one of the first art-tools a child needs to learn. Kindergartners can help their parents and grandparents learn it, too! My husband introduced me to an online visual dictionary today. For future reference, I recommend that you bookmark it: www.visualdictionaryonline.com

We found this clear presentation of the color wheel under the Arts and Architecture category:

2010-04-08T17:07:00.003-04:00

FLOWERS IN THE SPRINGTIME. Even though allergies prevent me from venturing outside at this time of year, I'm able to bring the Outdoors inside without too many allergy consequences. A few weeks ago a friend brought me a bunch of Daffodils and today one the Intermezzo artists brought a couple of her first Irises from her garden.

This is also the season for artists to explore different mixtures of Greens. My favorite is Cadmium Yellow + Winsor Blue (red shade). Right now Spring Green leaves seem to have light yellow green shades with pale rosy and lavender tints, whether it be tulips or daffodils.

2010-04-04T08:59:00.000-04:00

"WATERCOLOR" YOUR OWN EGGS! Our grandchildren love this kind of Major Production! A school teacher mom in the family circle helps lighten the load...she has the "know-how" to set up shop at her kitchen table and patiently let excited children get to work on their own color blends!

2010-04-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

BOYS WITH AN ARTISTIC BENT.

Boys have just as much of a "knack" for art as girls do! Art is for everyone!

Interests and styles may vary, but God, the Creator, created each one of us with the ability to create. Isn't it interesting to see so many different creative approaches to the same subject matter?

Participants in all of my art classes enjoy seeing each other's work. We can learn from each other, not just from the teacher. I love hearing students compliment each other on their work, or ask someone to show them "how did you do that?". . . .

2010-03-29T16:10:00.005-04:00

ALL THE JOYFUL COLORS OF SPRING!

My favorite color is Spring Green. And my favorite palette is the colors of the garden. "All colors are harmonious when you toss in some blue." Children must intuitively know this principle because they cannot seem to paint flowers without having some blue beckoning from their paint palette so they "toss it in" with abandonment!

2010-03-28T15:41:00.001-04:00

TULIP TIME! Spring is in the air. And tulips are a favorite subject matter for watercolor studies. One reason children are drawn to tulips is their "easy shape"---a big letter "U" with upside down "V" shapes on the top! Their long droopy stems and elongated leaves make them interesting to sketch and paint, too. Since each tulip seems to be a blend of several colors, we are prone to dip into every color in our paint palette with appealing results.

My KinderArt students concentrated on taking care to clean their brushes well every time they changed colors, but they worked quietly and steadily with loose brushstrokes to create a bouquet of flowers. While my Intermezzo ladies worked in deep concentration for over an hour to painstakingly produce a single tulip, more of a botanical study than a still life study.

2010-03-22T12:55:00.003-04:00

KANDINSKY's "Squares and Concentric Circles" (1913). These squares were made by KinderArt students---each student made two squares, one to keep and one to contribute to our "group painting". Using oil pastels (or wax crayons, not the "washable" crayons), draw fat rings, with bright colors, inside each square. Try to leave white space between the circles. Paint over the entire square with watercolor, using a different color for each square.

Try it for yourself! Fold and crease a piece of paper into three equal sections. Unfold the paper and crease it again in half lengthwise. The creases make six squares. You can add painter's tape or masking tape around the outer sides of each square as you paint it so that the color for one square will not bleed into another square. Let each square dry completely before you tape and move on.

Tip: keep a puzzle game close by to play while you're waiting for the paint to dry, or use a hair dryer to speed up the drying time!

2010-03-21T21:23:00.006-04:00

KITCHEN ART. Move the art studio into the kitchen! First, choose your icing palette. Primary colors, or three neon brights, or. . . ? Do not mix more than two colors together or you'll get muddy brown (which your little brother might like). Take your time and care-fully spread the gorgeous gooey colors around. Swirls. Circles. Dots. Voila---you are an artistic cupcake designer! Let the party begin!

2010-03-21T20:39:00.007-04:00

CONCENTRATION GAME. Accurate, realistic drawing requires deep concentration. When pencil meets the paper, integrated learning skills are developed! Quality results are the payoff. I love to hear a child exclaim, "This is my best drawing ever"! At the same time, I enjoy watching a child struggle with his drawing because it indicates he's taking a risk, he's thinking and using both sides of his brain.

2010-03-12T19:59:00.005-05:00

ALTERED ART GUESSING GAME. My Intermezzo Ladies watercolor class took a break from painting and explored Altered Art. Guess which one the educator is working on. And the quilter? And which one looks like my creation?

2010-03-01T06:00:00.007-05:00

ALTERED ART: BOOKMARKS AND TAGS

2010-03-01T06:00:00.005-05:00

ALTERED ART FOR KIDS. Bookmarks, Tags, and Artists Trading Cards are good first-time-projects. Cupcake tins can be used for sorting objects and styrofoam food trays are perfect containers for gathering supplies for one project at a time. A cardboard or plastic mat will make clean-up easier, too. For girls, have lots of ribbons and pretty papers on hand. For boys, stickers and stencils are popular. All children enjoy postage stamps and fabric scraps.

2010-02-07T15:12:00.004-05:00

COMBAT WINTER DOLDRUMS WITH ART THERAPY. When your grandkids claim to be bored, grab the art supplies! We had fun exploring different things to do with simple origami projects! What do you like to do with the paper folding origami birds, animals and buildings you make?

2010-02-07T14:48:00.008-05:00

ALTERED ART. "Altered art" is transforming an object, like a discarded library book, into a creative work of art. Typically it encompasses a theme and utilizes a variety of media and techniques. In a beginners' workshop we start with ATCs (Artists Trading Cards) and manila file folders. This is the time to haul out scrapbook supplies, rubbing stamping tools, and your bins of ribbons, buttons, and fabric scraps. And a photo box of collage materials like photos, postage stamps, wrapping paper, magazines and scrapbook papers. You'll need a basket of basic supplies: glue, scissors, gel pens, markers, paint, stencils, rubber stamps, stencils, wax crayons, watercolors.

Memorabilia like brochures and ticket stubs from your visits to museums, or your travel folder from your last vacation, can be used to create a keepsake.

2010-01-28T19:08:00.009-05:00

KINDERART CLASSES. Drawing and Watercolor Painting. At certain ages and stages children are drawn to animals. My set of wooden jungle animals from Africa make good models for drawing from life projects. Negative space is a concept which helps the student draw the trunk and the legs.

Using the watercolor sketches found in the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady is an excellent source of inspiration for landscapes captured with a Cotman pan set of watercolors. The #5 travel brush comes with the case and is easy to handle for a young painter.