K is for Keeping at It

I should not be surprised, but working in colored pencil is slow and painstaking. This week the focus is on landscapes. I started out by trying to copy a picture of a scene. I immediately failed because the image I chose, though beautiful, did not lend itself to color pencil or the paper I chose. However, there were shapes and colors that inspired me - so I took what I liked and left the rest.

I suppose this means that the drawing I created is an abstract image. Of course abstract landscapes are often what appears when I take a line for a walk - or otherwise draw freely - so this was like coming
in the backdoor to a familiar place with suddenly new rules and challenges.

This is still very much in progress - especially because I am trying to build color by blending layers and without adding lines for texture.  Its an interesting process and I will continue to work on this.

Keep on keeping on.

H is for Hippie

Let it POP. 9x12 Acrylic on Canvas

When my husband saw this little painting, done in preparation for a lesson on pop art landscapes, he began to sing, "we all live in a yellow submarine." Though his singing is not necessarily a good thing, I got the point.

Then a senior student commented, 'your hippie roots are showing." I didn't mean them to come out, but I admit it - as a child of the sixties, I love this wild and crazy use of color and light. Call me what you will ... this is fun.

And my young students definitely thought so too. The work that came from my classes was filled with light and beauty. The kids  were thrilled to work in acrylics. I was thrilled to see (and hear) the utter focus as every students worked hard to blend colors and create a sense of depth in their paintings.

AVG

TJ