A is for Another

Creativity is intelligence having fun  ― Albert Einstein.

A is for another year, and as always, I am looking forward to both the art and the words that will result.

A is also for Albert, Einstein that is, and the quote (above) that I recently  came across.  Somehow, in just these five words, Albert has managed to say what I have been trying to express through my art, my writing and most of all, through my teaching, throughout my career.

I believe that creative thinking is key to a satisfying life, that being creative frees us to use our brains in wonderful and often unexpected ways, no matter your age. And I know that when I teach and when I work on my art, and when I write about it in  this blog, I am not only learning, but having fun. I hope you will too as you follow this month's journey.

Student Age 10

So, this November I will my focus blog and my posts around this quote. As I have in the six (!) previous years that I have participated in this challenge, I will allow the letters of  the alphabet to direct the theme of each days post. And of course, I will  share images of art that I create, both for myself and as lesson preparation for the variety of classes and students I teach.

I will write about what I  learn as I as I paint and draw, and include tips, insights, recommendations and resources that work for me, and for my students, old and young.  I will also share some of the fabulous work that is created in my classes.

My drawing of apples in a bowl was created for an autumn themed lesson. I chose apples as the subject because they are easy to draw, the shapes are what they are and almost always look great. They remove some of the "oh I can't draw" energy from my senior artists, and let the young ones have fun with something they are familiar with.

I used color pencils (Prismacolor are my favorites) because they are easy for my senior students to handle, and can be layered to create wonderful depth of color for my skilled Young Artists. I chose a variety of reds, greens and yellows and played with curving lines to create the apple shapes. Then I added layer on layer of color until they looked good enough to eat. Fun!

Do you want to participate in the Art Everyday for a Month Challenge. To learn more about it, and sign up to participate, SIGN UP FOR ART EVERY DAY MONTH CHALLENGE

Art Every Day: C is for Cezanne

Day 3: Perhaps it is the result of painting apples, or even today's pears, but all this fruitfulness brings Cezanne to mind - and reminds me of one of my favorite art classes (Painting in Pastels, at PNCA).
One of our assignments was to select a section from a masterwork and copy it. I chose to work from pastels by Mary Cassatt and Degas (always an overachiever, I did the assignment three times).
So, today, I decided to seek some inspiration from studying Cezanne's painted apples. To the internet ...
My first click brought me to a wonderful website from the Metropolitan Museum of Art "Cezanne's Astonishing Apples" It is perfect for kids, with its "Look Closely" feature. But perfect also for me - I got to look, in detail, at his painting, Apples and Primroses, hear a nice story about his life, and learn how Cezanne approached his work.
My time spent with Cezanne also helped me understand the challenge I had while painting these pears. One is shiny, two are are not. I am still playing with it to get the light and the colors to work. I did this one on a dark grey Canson Mi Tiente. I like the way the dark color supports the bright white in the foreground.

Art Everyday: B is for Bowl (of Apples)

Pastels, finally, on red canson mi tiente (paper). I love the way the apple green just jumps off the page.

It is interesting to note the carryover from yesterday's project As a teacher, I am trying to determine what my students are learning from the step by step drawing and coloring projects. I can tell that they love what they are doing, but what are they taking away?

In this instance, by following the steps, I learned some new things about how to color the simple forms in the basket of apples to create roundness, establish shadow and highlights, and blend the colors to look like 'real' apples. I will have plenty of ideas to share with them today.

Art Every Day: The Challenge Begins

Let the challenge begin at A. A is for Apples.

Though I've posted a few images in the last week to give myself a taste of what it will be like to do this, the Art Everyday challenge officially begins today, November 1. The goal is to create and post something everyday this month. I am already feeling the pressure to find subjects to paint, and more to the point, paint something I am willing to share. I hope to learn a great deal, and to work even more than that.

Funny, though I mostly work in pastel, most of my recent work has been in other media. There are several reasons for this: First, I do what I am told in class :-), also, I am trying out project ideas for classes I am developing to offer this spring, and, I am currently teaching classes for Young Rembrandts, a program that teaches drawing to young children.

For these classes, I receive a curriculum packet that specifies all the details and every step for each lesson.This week, we draw a basket of apples using colored pencil. It took me several hours of uninterrupted drawing and coloring to even begin to get the richness of color I associate with apples (and art) I am curious to see how my students do with this project. They surprise me every week - so we shall see.

This image is actually my practice for the lesson I will present this week. It was interesting to layout the fruit in a circle, consider the light source, and have fun with the color. One of the advantages to teaching these classes is the opportunity to see how someone else approaches drawing different subjects. Not surprisingly, I learn as I teach.

I plan to keep with this apple theme a little longer and see what appears. See you tomorrow.