L is for Look

Pay attention, notice, open your eyes, observe  LOOK. This is one of the key messages in any art class. When I work with young students I encourage them to pay attention to the details they see. In a fashion class it is the lines of a garment they are designing, or the way the pattern is affected by the shape and position of the body beneath.

One of the best tools in my arsenal of teaching strategies is encouraging kids to look closely at flowers. We look at pictures, and handle real blooms, even taking them apart to see how they are made.

What is the shape of the center? What colors do you notice? How do the petals attach? Do they overlap? Then, we practice drawing flowers based on geometric shapes - just for fun. It is my intention in this lesson to encourage my young artists to let their design ideas begin to flow, to feel free to create their own flowers, express their own ideas, create interesting combinations and compositions. This is always a fun project.

Today, this is a floral I painted in Paint Joy following my own example
- simple shapes, repetition and lots of texture and color. I simply like to look at it.