"We went to the farm"

"Wy wint too the form"

sketch file cover for 6 year old

Yes sir we did, we went to the farm.  For the past two Sunday mornings, I have been teaching through the North Vancouver Arts Council at Maplewood Farm.

The first Sunday, we spent the two hours walking through the petting farm and sketching the animals with charcoal. This looks easier than it really is because the animals move around! A lot! And that takes a little bit of getting use too.

What the eight students ranging in age from 6 to 8 year olds learned quickly is that it's best to use your sketchpad as a resource to collect visual notes, rather than finished drawings.

It was a great exercise for them to learn how to let go and draw quickly.

They had a great time at the farm. We saw parrots and peacocks, not the first thing you think of when you go the farm, along with all the farm friendly regulars you expect to see when you are pretending to be Farmer Brown- ducks, chickens, cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, donkeys, and horses.

There was a lot of drawing going on and the highlight was definitely the goat who tried to eat my sketchpad at the end of the two hours. I think he just wanted to join in on the fun.

This Sunday the students went through their sketches and developed one into a graphite drawing. From there, they created an acrylic painting.

We discussed they could add an environment for the animal of their choice that did not necessarily have to be the farm. They could also choose to paint their animal like the Fauvist if they wanted, in wild beast colors, choosing to express the emotion of their animal through color.

It was interesting to see which sketch the students decided to use and the different styles they all decided to explore.  I love the results from the beginning sketches to the finished paintings.

I have grouped each child's exploration from start to finish, so you can see their thought process. And North Vancouver Arts Council is registering for their summer camps. If you would like your child to participate, check their website for details.

8 year old charcoal sketches from farms

graphite drawing

acrylic painting

 6 year old charcoal sketches from farm

graphite drawing

acrylic painting

7 year old charcoal sketches from farm

graphite drawing

acrylic painting

he's working out shapes to draw the bird

again you can see him breaking the sketch into shapes first to record the cow

6 year old charcoal farm sketches

graphite drawing

acrylic painting (rainbow colored peacock)

6 year old charcoal farm sketches

graphite drawing

Acrylic Painting, "wild beast colors" with lines of movement

6 year old charcoal farm sketches

graphite drawing, lamb

acrylic painting, lamb

6 year old charcoal and pencil farm sketches

graphite drawing, horse

acrylic painting, horse

8 year old charcoal farm sketches

graphite drawing, peacock hen

acrylic painting, peacock hen

The colors in these paintings was definitely richer than what recorded due to the sun and the fact that the paint was wet and reflecting the light. The kids were working the entire two hours between the graphite drawings and the paintings.