Saturday, January 31, 2009

I Have Art Students!

On Tuesday I had my first Experiencing Art class. I only have three students, two of which are my own boys, but it is a start. It was a lot of fun teaching the kids (two boys 9 & 15 and a girl age 10) how to draw. The plan for the class is to do a different type of art each month so that the children get to experience other art mediums. Our first month is to learn basic drawing and keeping art journals. Next month will be composition and design. March will probably be altered books. In April or May it will be photography.

My boys who have been around me and my art never really wanted to learn to draw or anything. Now that I have another student they are game for the fun. Even if I did not have a paying student I told them that I was going to have the classes anyway. They were game for some artistic fun! I am extremely happy that I am an artist and their teacher (we home school) of course my favorite job (not really a job more of a pleasure) is being their mom.

These are the two drawings I managed to do this week. Drawing a remote is crazy because of all the buttons. As I was working on the drawing it made me realize how little patience I have for completing complicated drawings. I want the pictures to be done quickly, however at the same time I want them to look perfect. Perfection or speed? one of them has to go. I think it shall be perfection. It would be nice to be able to draw using only brief lines to indicate an object or what have you. Watercolors have always been difficult for me because I want my paintings to be perfect and yet I like the watercolor paintings that are not perfect. It may be because of my photography that causes me to want perfect watercolor paintings. It is something I wish to work on because I like working with watercolors.

Practice at non-perfection!!!


4 comments:

winna said...

The jar melted into the background is very good--it has something that more work on it would cut into...I feel a lot like you do about perfection at least to some degree--it may be that your own style is wherever your brain wants to stop---where it feels comfortable...then it's "you"--and not like a photo someone could take..I think I have come to accept that thinking...

andrea joseph's sketchblog said...

Lovely drawings. The jar is gorgeous. Nice shadows.

Cecelia said...

Very nice pencil work!
Drawing a remote about gave me the heebie jeebies! LOL I finally just indicated buttons. I have eye problems and those buttons just got to be too much. Isn't it odd that such a simple thing should be so difficult!
Good luck with your children. I taught in public school, all levels, for 36 years. At one point, my daughter was in my art class. It worked out well. Now I work with my grandsons. They loved to draw and insisted on art, until they hit junior high school age. That happens to a lot of kids, I learned through the years.
The youngest is more interested in building things, these days.

Sarah Ketelaars said...

yes, letting go of perfection is a good thing i think - very freeing, but hard! These are great drawings.