Ink landscape paintings

In the "Hello Vancouver" camp, I had the artist explore creating a landscape painting of Vancouver without using color.

I gave each child some India ink, a paintbrush, a jug of water and a paper towel. Then asked them to lightly sketch out a scene from the reference material provided of Vancouver on watercolor paper.

10 year old, view from seawall

Together we explored how to create value using the ink on some scrap paper and some of the different ways to apply ink, such as dry brush.

8 year old, tree at Jericho beach

9 year old,  West Vancouver viewpoint

I also handed out some homemade tonal viewfinders I made, to put over the reference material, to make it easier to figure out the tones to create their artwork.

9 year old, Jericho beach

The artist seemed to really enjoy working without color and quickly caught on as to how to create the values needed to make an interesting landscape painting. As a teacher, it was great to be able to refer back to this project on later works they were creating to help them create more interest with value in their works.

8 year old

One artist in particular ended up with two lovely works, her "test" paper that she worked out how to use the ink and brush and her large artwork. 

11 year old, test paper

I told her she should add it to a card to give to someone she cares about with a note inside. Isn't it lovely? Here is her final work.

11 year old, Lighthouse Park

What lovely works of art each child created without one bit of color! This was a relaxing project for the kids and I could not be more thrilled with the skills they learned on top of the beautiful art they created.

Nature Sunprints

Sun prints have always been a huge hit whenever I have done them with children.

The sheer joy kids find in the discovery, the experimentation, and the outcome never ceases to amaze me with this medium.

I knew it would be a perfect project to do in the "Drawing from Nature" camp at Seymour Art Gallery.

The only problem is that in the northwest, sun can be a bit of a crap shoot and although I have done this project years ago in the middle of winter with very little sun, it takes FOREVER for the prints to finish. You really do want the sun to be shining strong so the kids do not get too impatient waiting for the prints to be ready.

Although not great for our water situation, lucky for us this summer has been unusually sunny and dry. So I knew we were in for a perfect day to do sun prints.

I put all the items the kids had collected on Monday's hike into one communal pile.

Knowing the kids would want to do several prints once they started, I cut the sun paper into fourths in order to keep the project cost effective and allow the kids the opportunity to have fun with the medium until their hearts content.

And fun they had!

The process is quite simple.

First, I had the kids create a small composition using the items collected. When they were happy, I gave them a piece of sun paper or in our case, sun fabric.

At this point, I stress how important it is to get their pieces quickly onto the paper as it is quite sensitive to light. Then they carefully took it out to the deck and placed it into the bright sunshine.

Then they waited for about five minutes for the paper to change colors.

Some kids wanted to move things once it was out in the sun, but quickly learned that does not work. Once it is down, it can't be moved. A good lesson in learning to live with decisions and being quite thoughtful in the decisions one makes since there isn't a "do over".

Once the paper turned colors, they took off the items and placed the paper (fabric) into a shallow bowl of water.

Oh the excitement as the paper changed and they saw the final results.

Needless to say, there was a frenzy of activity as they created multiple prints. It was fun to watch them share results among each other and ultimately be inspired by each other throughout the process.

We had butterflies made from shells.

 

And some kids used sticks and shells to create the initials of their names.

Of course everyone tried just some arrangements of different natural items just to see what would happen. How great are these sea pods?!! 

I wasn't the only one who thought they were great either. Several kids couldn't wait to add them to their compositions after seeing the above results.

And how beautiful are these simple prints of a fern leaf?

 

Or these sea pods that look like part of an intergalactic composition?

There was a wide variety of compositions using all the natural elements on hand.

Even those prints that might of been "mistakes" turned out lovely. The feather was not exposed long enough and the shells are the learning example of not moving items once the sun process has begun, although it might be a good example of why you should move items in the middle of the printing process too since the result is quite interesting.

I think it is safe to say that the kids really enjoyed this project. One might even say they loved it. 

I'm sure come next summer on a lovely, sunny day, I'll be introducing this project again. Who could resist a project that brings so much joy to the kids participating? Certainly not me.

large watercolors inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe

During the hike at the Drawing from Nature camp through Seymour Art, the kids spent time collecting a variety of nature's treasures. 

It could be anything they found interesting.

There was quite a variety of items when we got back to the gallery, leaves, shells, pinecones and feathers just to name a few. There would of been a dead jelly fish amongst the list, but I drew the line at jelly fish coming back to the gallery.

Crazy, I know. 

maple leaf, 11 year old

Before starting this project, I showed the students Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings. We discussed why she chose to paint them so large. I also pointed out how abstract some of the flowers became by enlarging the flower so much only a small part was visible.

seashell,  11 year old

I then asked each student to go through their bag and find an item they wanted to enlarge and highlight in their artwork. An item they wanted the viewer to stop and notice in a new and interesting way, something they more than likely usually just walked by and didn't pay much attention to in the past.

fern leaf, 6 year old

I also let them know that they did not need to draw this realistically. I encouraged them to create their own unique style while paying attention to the details of the item in front of them. I also explained that they could use any colors they wanted for painting. I quickly went over how they could exaggerate the colors they already saw in the item or use color to create a certain mood. I wanted them to understand they had lots of artistic decisions, all of which should be made to please none other than themselves.

bird's eye view of pinecone, 11 year old

Since the paper was so large, the kids worked out their drawings directly on the final paper. I showed them how if they drew very lightly with the pencil, they could easily erase any unwanted lines without any trace being left on the paper of their existence. I find by drawing one line dark and one very light, then using the eraser and allowing the kids to visual see the difference, is really the only explanation needed to convince them to keep the lines barely visible while creating a sketch.

I also asked them to have their item touch at least three sides of the paper in hopes of encouraging them to draw big.

sea pods, 8 year old

When they were happy with their sketches, they went over their pencil lines with a permanent black marker.

sea pods, 7 year old

Then I gathered them around and show them a variety of things they could do with liquid watercolor. When you look at all these paintings, keep in mind the children were only given red, yellow and blue color. I am always so impressed with the color mixing they do when using this medium and for the most part, they do all the color mixing directly on the paper.

sea shell, 6 year old

Some of the techniques I showed them with the liquid watercolor before they started their paintings was wet on wet, blooming, salt, blotting, and scratching. And as usual, wet on wet and salt got the biggest response of "oooo's" and "ahhhh's".

By the time I was finished with the demonstration, they could not wait to get started.

barnacles on a shell, 7 year old

As always, I asked them to start with their backgrounds first. This is truly like putting kids in front of a Christmas tree with piles a wrapped presents underneath and asking them to wait for Christmas morning, the anticipation of waiting to paint the hero of the work is killer.

ferns, 11 year old

But the students also realize the reward is sweet. It is always easier to paint over the background with great results than painstakingly trying put the background in behind the focus of the artwork.

ferns, 11 year old

The kids had a lot of fun creating these works. The room got very quiet as they got lost in the process of working with the watercolors. Having the opportunity, (thanks to the Curator), to work on such large paper was a very big treat. And in the end, the kids were all so proud of these pieces.

maple leaves, 7 year old

Like Georgia O'Keeffe, I think they truly loved having the opportunity to make viewers take a second look at the many beautiful things we take for granted that nature provides.

painting from nature

This past week, I ran a camp for Seymour Art Gallery in Deep Cove called, "Drawing from Nature".

The first day of camp we spent hiking through the trails and down to the beach. It was a beautiful day and the temperature was perfect. The kids spend the morning sketching the beauty around them and collecting nature's treasures to create artwork with the rest of the week.

The next day, they created acrylic paintings from the hike. We discussed that their artwork could focus on a part of the hike that resonated with them, an item from the hike they collected, or something they wished they would have seen along the way.

(We also created relief tiles with the same instructions. They were stunning but unfortunately I do not have photographs of them to share with you as the last day was very busy up until they walked out the door)

11 year old

As usual, they created their colors using a limited palette of white, black, brown and the primary colors.

7 year old

These two children are twins and were in town visiting their grandmother from Hong Kong. What a great way to take souvenirs home from a trip! Their very own artwork of an environment and town much different than their own.

7 year old

11 year old

As you can see, there was a particular fascination with a tree whose roots were quite exposed. I find it interesting how each child interpreted this tree.

11 year old

This is the view right outside of the gallery. For these lucky kids, this is just the everyday view from main street. 

(If you happen to watch a U.S. television series called Cedar Cove, then you are quite familiar with this view as it is filmed in this town and on this street)

11 year old

We came across some beautiful mushrooms on the hike and I obviously was not the only one fascinated by them.

7 year old

When we made it to the shoreline, it was a treasure trove of beautiful collectables. There were rocks and shells covered with barnacles and this particular one was coveted by a young artist.

7 year old

We crossed a small creek that was home for young salmon and when it is time to spawn, a place where salmon come at the end of their lives. The kids all spent a long time standing still to catch a glimpse of the very young fish and this artist decided to paint a picture of the stream with an adult who has come back to lay her eggs.

7 year old

One of the more exciting moments was when the kids spotted a woodpecker in the woods. I missed it, but it was definitely a highlight of the hike for many.

11 year old

As we neared the beach, there was an excitement in the voice of several of the older girls about a favorite tree. When we arrived, they immediately climbed it and settled in on a branch to sketch. Although I don't recall a swing, it would be a lovely addition to a tree that meant so much to these girls.

7 year old

And finally there was this creation. No, we did not go snorkeling in the water.  However there were many jellyfish laying amongst the rocks while the tide was out. 

Are there sea serpents in the waters of Deep Cove? This child would like to think so to go along with his deep interest and knowledge of the jelly fish.

As you can see, we had a great day hiking. Evident by the images captured in acrylic paint.