Candy Still-Life Paintings

Last year I had a revelation when I was getting ready to have my Painting students begin their first painting assignment for our still-life unit. I was digging through my still life objects and thinking about how sick I was of painting them- don't get me wrong, there is obviously a ton of benefit from having students work directly from a still life set up in the classroom- and I still set one up every semester for my Introductory classes when they learn how to use charcoal..but..I was tired of having my painting students use the same objects.  I've gotten some pretty amazing still life paintings over the years...

still-life by Jimmy

Still Life by McKenzie

Stuffed Bird Still life by Natalie

..but I needed a change. I wanted to keep it light and have students bring in some more color. The Candy Still-life project was born.

I bring in a some candy and invite my students to do the same if there is something particular they want to paint

Students will then set up a still-life with the candy on their desks

I invite them to think of creative compositions

            

some finished products- by Jillian. I love her color combinations here.

by Jacquelyn

peeps..are always good subjects- by Emma

Have to be honest- this is my favorite! By Kara. I love the narrative she has set up here.

Samantha wanted to challenge herself by including a mason jar

Talia liked the idea of them in motion..I love this too!

 It's been really fun and the still-life seems less of a chore. I always love seeing the unexpected things students will do with these.

Contour Drawing Unit- How I start off Introductory Art

I teach several sections of our introductory art class both semesters each year. I love this class because this is where I have a chance to hook kids into taking more classes in the department. A bunch of kids just sign up for it thinking they won't be very good or they are pretty sure they won't like it- it's always a good challenge to try and change their minds.
 I have traditionally always started this class with a unit on contour drawing. This is a great way to get kids to practice drawing from observation, thinking about composition and capturing an object's form without worrying about value.  It has always seemed to make sense to start off the class with a series of mini projects- a series of drawings done in only a class period or two- building up to the final project. We start off with a project drawing our hands and incorporating tour initials in American sign language. Students get to choose what kind of background they want to incorporate.

I introduce blind contour drawing after that and jump right into drawing self-portraits (blind and looking) with contour. We go over the proportions of the head and face.

I love blind contour self-portraits!

It's always fun to compare the first self-portrait done the first week of school with the one done much later in the semester where value and texture are used along with a grid for proportions.

We spend a few classes drawing shoes in contour lines and also natural objects. We notice how they are not so different to draw.

Then I introduce cross-contour drawing. It's funny how kids seems to be divided into two very firm camps- the kids who get it immediately and wonder why I talk so much about it because it seems quite easy and the kids who find it very challenging and confusing and require lots of practice to get the hang of it. There doesn't seem to be any in between! I painted a bunch of water bottles from the recycling bin my first year teaching with gesso and then drew lines on them. This seems to be a very concrete way of showing kids what I am talking about and works well.

Hundreds of kids have drawn these over the years!

Once they draw the gessoed bottle, they can move on to other objects in the art room without actual lines drawn on them.

Then, finally, we are ready for their first graded longer term project. I have them do a 'Self-Portrait in 6 Objects' that they bring in because by this point they are sick of my stuff. The drawings are a lot more interesting and they care more about them if they are drawing their own objects. I really get to know a lot more about them after this project since this is all at the beginning of the semester.
The basic rules are, they must draw at least 6 objects that they bring in that represent them in some way. One of them must be done in cross-contour, one of them must be an natural object and only one can be drawn from either a reference photo or be a flat object such as a certificate or a playing card.  The idea really is to have the objects in front of them while drawing. Drawing from observation is so important!
I ask them to really think about composition and to fill up the page (18" x 24") in an interesting way that engages the edges of the page too.
Here are some examples from this semester:

Great one by Megan

Almost everybody includes their phones as one of their objects..cracked screen and all! This is Jenna's

I learn about what teams they are a part of and what kind of things they do for fun. This one by Meghan.

By Jessica

Love the jacket and backpack here.. by Kendra

Though this unit feels very long, I think it creates a strong foundation for the rest of the semester. I often hang up this final project around my room and in display spaces around the school and students tell me their friends can recognize them from their objects.

Artist's books

I love this little one done by Aimee- it's only 3" high

I love making books with my students. It is something that can be done with students of varying levels of ability and the overall size or number of panels in the book can be altered to accommodate different time frames.I do them with both my intermediate level Painting students as a final project at the end of the semester and I have done them with A.P. and Pre-A.P. Studio Art kids who are preparing their portfolios for applying to Art schools. I often use the star book as my format of choice because it is so versatile, but I've had some ambitious students do tunnel books when we have the time to do that.

Olivia made a star book of Times Square- I loved the graphic nature of this.

"The Horrors of War" Star book by Peter.

Boston driving Scene by Kathryn. This is a good example of changing the format to just two panels to accommodate having only a short amount of time left in the semester to work on this project.

I love this tiny cat book by Samantha- it is also only about 3 inches tall. She drew all those little cat faces by hand in the last layer!

I've also had students incorporate mixed media into their star books. "Aquarium Book" by Grace.

Sam convinced me to let him do a tunnel book- I am so glad I did!

inside of Sam's tunnel book

This is also by Sam, a star book done on the evolution of London over history.

Sam again, he got so into bookmaking he made quite a few pieces for his portfolio.

Backyard Ants Take Over the Barbecue- by Jordan

It takes a lot of planning and students need a lot of assistance and instruction once they are actually sewing the book together- I am always wondering why I undertake this project when we are all trying to get them done before the semester ends---but...everyone is usually really pleased with the outcomes...so I always come back to it!

Reuse, Recycle.....Transform!

Happy New Year!
It's the end of semester- only one more week of class before exams and then my semester long classes  are done. I get a new crop of students the end of January. I always find myself wishing my classes were all year long because I find students really get into projects about this time. We've done a lot of observational drawing in my introductory classes and covered different mark-making techniques, using value, texture and color. This is the point in the semester when projects can become a little more creative and students (especially beginning students) are a little more confident in their abilities. In my introductory class I've been doing some kind of transformation project with my students for years. In this incarnation I've asked them to pick out something from the recycling bin at home (and, I have a cabinet of recycling in my room for those who just can't seem to remember to bring in something from home) and to bring it in.

I've seen a lot of Starbucks cup transformations over the years...

In six steps I have the students transform the object into either an animal, insect or person. I tell them they can be inspired by the designs on the packaging or it can be completely unrelated. The objective is to change both the object and its background gradually in six steps. A lot of students get caught up on "what does this can look like?!" but I always remind them that this doesn't actually happen in real life- they can turn it into anything!  Once they figure out the basic steps they will use in a rough draft they map it out on watercolor paper. The results are always really fun.

When I show this to students we talk about how it is lovely but would be even better if the color scheme was also trransformed. (Energy Drink/Bee by Ingancio)

Same for this one..though I really love that she included the recycling bin! (Egg crate/Butterfly by Siobhan)

Polar Selzter/ Fish by Lily

Sanpple/Hamster by Allison

I love that she did this in a vertical format! (Pellegrino/Jack Sparrow by Sam)

I love this one too! (Starbucks/Surfer by Aimee)

Though this time of the semester is so hectic, this is always one of my favorite projects!

Update - Mixed Media Self-Portraits

Just had to share..my student who did her self-portrait on a drum head- she finished today. She is so proud...she has brought approximately 50 people into my room to see it throughout the course of the day! It's nice to see a student so pleased with what they made!

It's currently in the window!

Mixed Media Self-Portraits- an investigation of materials

One of my favorite classes to teach is my Painting class. Students have to take the department's introductory art class beforehand, but that is the only prerequisite. That means I usually have a couple of kids who are really interested in art and trying to squeeze in as many classes in their schedules and also that I have a bunch of kids who need one more art class to fulfill a graduation requirement and either half-remember me always mentioning Painting when I was their Basics of Art teacher or heard the class was fun and decided to try it. However they got there, I always have a real mix of ability and ages- sophomores through seniors. It was hard at first to try and come up with projects that were accessible to all levels of students, but I have learned over the years that the more open ended they are the easier it is to engage students of all skill levels.
 One such project is a mixed-media self-portrait. After a few projects using watercolor and investigating color theory we switch over to acrylic paint. I show them this slide show of mixed media work for inspiration on materials and methods.

 

They ask a lot of questions about what material these paintings are on and if we have that kind of stuff lying around the art room. Often we do or we can get it quite easily. I've had students get really

excited about working on alternative materials- I have a student working on an old drum head right now! A few years ago a student brought in an old floor length mirror to work on:

Mixed Media Self- Portrait by Natalie

Because I have such a wide range of students with varying abilities some of them are very comfortable just painting themselves from observation:

 

 

Self-Portrait by Tim 

 

 

 

 

Others want to use photographs or themselves and the grid or sometimes photoshop to break down their image into values:

Mary Jane working on her mixed media portrait

When I first started teaching I made everyone draw themselves from observation- this is fine for some students, but not for all. The students with less experience were intimidated and dreaded the project. This obviously was not working so I have loosened up over the years and let students use whatever tools they need to create a likeness that they are happy with. In the end it is even more about the process than the result, so I'd like for it to be a positive experience.

Here are some examples of this project from over the years.

Grace

Shauna

Aimee

Sam

   

This is a close up of Aimee's..she made all the hair with thread woven through pins

Rachel wanted to use the funnies from the paper

Tom got so into his painting he decided to use the same image as a basis for a mosaic done in another class.

 We just started this semester's last week. I've had a bunch of kids borrow the camera to get photos of themselves they are happy with, and a bunch just grab mirrors and begin. Some are a little unsure exactly how they will proceed...so I've had them just work on building up a surface.

This student was very hesitant about this project! she compromised by agreeing to do her silhouette. She ended up happy with the results. This has really been one of my favorite projects to do with students over the years!

.