Chuck Close Ups (2012)

My 8th Grade students had 2 weeks left of the quarter and made these Chuck Close inspired paintings of a close up of their eye. I took photos of their face and cropped just their eye. Students drew a half inch grid on the black and white photo that was 3x5. Students then drew a one inch grid on 6x10 in watercolor paper and enlarged their eye by drawing the contour lines. Students learned about monochromatic color shcemes and chose one color to paint their project with while mixing numerous tints and shades of that color to represent the highlights and shadows. This project took five-55 minute classes.

Chuck Close Portraits (2013)

My 8th Grade students learned about the artwork of Chuck Close and how he used a grid to enlarge a photo. Students were given the choice to bring in a photo of themselves or I took a photo of them in class. Students put a one inch grid on the photo and then chose to work with colored pencil or watercolor pencil. Students put a one inch grid on their project paper and used the grid to draw the contour lines of their facial features. They chose one color scheme for the background, a second color scheme for their skin, and third and fourth color schemes for their hair and clothes. This project took about eight 55 minute class periods.

Hero Portraits

High School Art 2 students studied the artwork of Chuck Close. Students were directed to choose a person they consider to be a Hero: A person admired for their achievements and noble qualities. One that shows great courage. The central figure in an event, period or movement. After they chose their person I printed out an 8x10 black and white photo. Students drew a one inch grid on top of their photo. Students were given 16x20 inch drawing paper and then doubled the grid by drawing 2 inch squares. Students were capturing the values they saw in the photo and translated them onto their drawing. They drew a different set of line designs to fill each square focusing on value and contour lines.