High School and Middle School Art

PLEASE SEND ME PHOTOS OF YOUR DRAWINGS AND PROJECTS

kohlert@rsmschools.org

Students below are a few activities to keep your creative minds active. You have a lot of free time on your hands and you need to stay engaged with something. Even if you only have a pencil and paper you can create something, you can draw something, you can learn something, and you can improve your skills.

Portrait Drawing

A lot of us are at home with other family members so this is a great time to practice your portrait drawing skills.

1. Ask a family member to model for you. Think about how the body position and body language can convey a mood and pose them according to how you want them to look from the point of view that you are drawing. Pose them with interesting props, pets or fabrics. Use pencil and add shading- to show value, and use thick and thin lines to show textures and shapes in the scene. Do at least 2 drawings- either the same person from 2 different views or two different family members. (approx. 30 min each sketch- 1 hour total )

2. Select your favorite one of these sketches to make into a more finished drawing/ painting. If you don’t have any paint or ink– try to make your ownboil some coffee or tea for a few minutes to make it more concentrated. Once it is cool you can paint with it like you would use India ink. You can use this same technique to make colors with juice, soda or other foods that have a strong color. Only use natural things to make ink with- no chemicals, perfumes or cleaners. If you have the Internet watch instructional videos on making natural inks (only try this with parental permission). Use whatever materials you have around the house if you don’t want to try and make ink. Look at the portrait/ figure paintings of Alice Neel for inspiration. Seen below ( approx. 2 hours)

Surreal Drawing and Creating

1. Collect 3 organic things- ex. Houseplant, fruit, vegetable Collect 3 man made things- ex. Chair, cereal bowl, perfume bottle

2. Draw each item individually- use pencil and show value with hatching and crosshatching technique. (approx. 1 hour)

3. Draw at least 4 of these 6 items in one composition. You can change the size/ scale of any of these things, to make an interesting but surreal combination. Explore the concept of symbolism and think about possible meanings of the objects in relationship to one another. For example, what if the apple is so big it fills up the chair?...

4. Look at paintings by Rene Magritte for inspiration- shown below

Art At Home

There is a great website with several different age group projects that have step by step instructions. https://brooklineartscenter.com/artreach/art-at-home/

Select your age group and find a project that you want to try. If you can't find something try a different age group. Do not do something because you think it will be hard. TRY IT. you will be surprised in your own abilities.

Drawing Everyday with JJK - Daily art lessons from author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka

These are great videos for students that are interested in creating their own characters. The videos are fun and entertaining while giving you good ideas on how to create drawings and characters. I posted the first four episodes of his here and you can find the rest on his youtube page at https://www.youtube.com/studiojjk .

Drawing Trees

The weather is getting nice so get out and DRAW! Draw some trees! I have attached several videos to help you get started. You can draw from going out and observing the tress or you can take a picture and use it as a reference photo. Breakdown the tree into simple parts; ovals, circles, rectangles, and cylinders to start. Think about where your light source is at and the difference values. Use varying mark making techniques to create your textures. The leafs could be made using controlled scribbles or the bark could be made from different line lengths. Please send me a picture of your drawings or post it to the school Facebook page.

Contour Drawing

Draw the contour of your hand by first placing your hand on the desk and a sheet of paper to one side. Without looking at your hand, begin drawing following the contour edge of your hand. Draw slowly and be sure to include all of the subtle features as you go. When done your illustration may not look a great deal like a hand but should have characteristics of a hand. The exercise is used to practice hand/eye coordination and develop one's skill in seeing detail.

Create a 2-point perspective drawing of a city block. Detail may be added like the example below.

Self Portrait from 4 different perspectives

You can either use four different pieces of paper or divide your paper into four equal parts. Take four different pictures of yourself to use as reference. Use a side view, front, a close up, looking down, looking up, looking from the side, and a 3/4 view are few ideas for your perspectives. Also think about your line quality and if it is black and white. Think about the values (lights and darks).

Drawing eyes.

Take a picture of your eye close up. Remember to use a good range of blacks and whites. You can also use color.

Create 1-Point Perspective landscape.

Supplies: Pencil, ruler, eraser, and paper.

Vocabulary: Vanishing point, Types of Lines (horizontal, vertical, parallel, diagonal, and organic), Foreground, Middle Ground, Background, Rendering, Source of Light, Depth, and Perspective.

Learning Objectives:

A. Student will learn how to draw a 1-point perspective landscape drawing using a variety of lines to show depth and details.

B. Watch the video: https://youtu.be/1mtzgQe52RU

C: Establish a horizon line and vanishing point on you paper and continue.

Junk Food.

1. In your own words how do you define junk food?

2. Why do you think the term junk food is used?

3. What are your favorite junk foods?

4. What is the appeal of junk food to consumers?

5. What do you think are some of the negatives of junk food consumption?

6. If someone made the statement that “Junk food is NOT eco friendly” what do you think the person means by that?

Decide what your favorite junk food is by creating a list. Research images of your favorite junk food- not just the packaging, but the "food" itself, note the colors, texture, the feel, look at it close up, etc. Once you have done this, make a sketch(s) using paper and pencil by collaging all your junk food together to form a composition. The numbers of ways you can approach this infinite. See example below.