Nice View

It is exciting to see the progress of the new Venture High School building.   Today I visited the construction site and stood on the cement slab that will soon be my classroom.  Most of my north-facing wall will be one large window and the view is pretty amazing.

I've always been oriented towards figure drawing and still-lifes, but I think I might just start incorporating some landscape painting. 

Anatomy for Artists: Final Skeletons

We finished the Anatomy for Artists Intensive yesterday, and I'm glad it's over.  Don't get me wrong.  It was a fantastic class to teach, but I think, after two weeks of drawing nearly 5 hours per day, the students and I are all mentally exhausted.  Here are some of the final drawings that came out of the class. The skeleton drawings are life-size.

Anatomy for Artists: Skeleton Update

The Anatomy for Artists intensive has been awesome.  The students--all ninth and tenth graders--have nearly completed their life-size skeleton studies and have produced some great drawings.  Here are some additional photos of the skeletons in progress.  I should have some photos of the final skeletons later this weekend.

Anatomy for Artists Intensive

At Venture High, we offer "Intensives" twice each year.  These are unique courses that provide the opportunity for students to explore specific concepts in-depth.  The students sign up for one class, which they attend all day, every day for two weeks.  This semester, I am teaching an "Anatomy for Artists" course that introduces basic skeletal structure through art.  The class's final product  is a life-size skeleton drawing.  Each day students draw a different section of the skeleton, using a model and photos for reference.  It has been one of the most demanding art classes I have taught, with students drawing steadily for four or five hours per day.  First, they draw pencil studies the bones, then spend the majority of the day drawing specific parts of the skeleton which they later use to assemble the full skeleton body.  The students have produced some amazing work.  One of the "character"  learning targets for this course was "perseverance" because I knew it would be a large, demanding project, and my students exceeded my expectations.  I am proud of their efforts.  Below are a few drawings in progress.

Aliens!

I recently found this drawing of alien concepts in a box of old keepsakes.  I think I drew them in fourth grade.  I remember drawing them during class.  I'm sure I was supposed to be listening to the teacher.  Instead my imagination was wandering somewhere between Neptune and Pluto.