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.

 

 

Recycled Art (2010)

My advanced art class studied the artwork of Tara Donovan and how she uses found objects to create massive sculptures. Students were challenged to create their own sculptures from found objects inspired by Donovan's work. Students were required to supply their own materials and were challenged to discover new ways to manipulate their material beyond the obvious solution.

                                                                Sugar Cubes

                                                                       Pennies

                                                                         Tampons

                                                              Hot Glue and Tin Foil

                                                                        GI Joes

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Scratchboard Art (2010)

My advanced art class created scratchboard art of a subject of their choice. They had to show strong contrast of black and white with grey tones in the middle. Students found this technique challenging and for many this was their first time using a scratchboard. I gave them small pieces of scratchboard to practice before they created the final piece of art.

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Watercolor Landscapes (2010)

My advanced art class learned about atmospheric perspective and the use of foreground, middle ground, and background in landscapes. Students created rough draft sketches in their sketchbooks before they painted their 18x 24 in. watercolor landscapes. They also practiced various watercolor techniques like making washes, wet on wet, wet on dry, and using salt as texture.

                                                                    Teacher Example

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Carlsbad Art Splash (2009)

In the Fall on 2009 I was invited to bring my advanced art class to participate in the Carlsbad Art Splash  for the second year in a row. (Click here to see 2008 mural).  This weekend art festival features professional artists creating artwork live for the public. Sidewalk murals are the highlight of the Carlsbad Art Splash and my art class was privileged to create one along with all the professional artists.

The week prior to Art Splash my advanced art class planned their design and practiced drawing it on the sidewalk at our school. I had students sign up for 3 hour shifts the weekend of the festival and they all worked together to complete the 8x8 ft. mural. The students did an amazing job on the mural and it was definitely a favorite of the young kids at the festival.

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Symbolic Self-Portraits (2008)

My High School Art 2 class was given the freedom to create a Symbolic Self-Portrait on any object they wanted to. Some chose to work on a canvas and others brought in their own object to paint. I love the variety of creations and the students loved that they were allowed to work outside of the box.

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Bites of History (2008)

My High School Art 2 class was challenged to create a painting or series of paintings inspired from famous artist. They could take 3 different paintings and combine them into one image. Here is my teacher example of combining 3 different Rene Magritte images into one.

Their other option was to create a series of 3 painting by recreating 2 famous paintings and then designing their own painting in a similar style.

Student Paintings   

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Art Splash 2008

In the fall of 2008 my High School Art 2 class was invited to participate in a weekend art festival. The event is called Carlsbad Art Splash and features professional artists with the highlight of the event being sidewalk murals. In the Spring of 2008 I hired local artist Bland Bizzaro to come teach my art students how to create sidewalk murals. Blane was so impressed with my students artwork (seen here) that he submitted photos of their sidewalk murals to the Art Splash and we were invited to participate in this highly publicized art festival.

This was a challenging task for me to prepare my students for. I was teaching at a new school and these students had never created a sidewalk mural before and the event was only 3 weeks into the school year. But my class did a great job working together to design their own mural. We planned it out and made a rough draft sketch and practiced at school before the big event. The Art Splash was a 2 day art festival and the students had such a fun time creating their mural along side professional artists. They worked through the hot sun for 6 hours a day without complaining! Many artists complimented our group on their fantastic behavior and group work. The final mural was excellent and this was such a rewarding experience for my students to have!

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**