Deanna & Julie discuss Roy Lichtenstein. Who was he? What were his paintings like? Why should we study him? Join us as we chat about Lichtenstein’s Pop Art and the fine line between a copycat and a unique original piece of art. Listen on iTunes | Listen on Google Play | Listen on Stitcher Roy Lichtenstein…
The 2nd artist we’ll study in our spring semester is Norman Rockwell. Who was he? What was his art like and why should we study him? Listen on iTunes | Listen on Google Play | Listen on Stitcher Here’s the Highlights: Who was Norman Rockwell His life: Well know, 4000 pieces of art Lived from…
Deanna & Julie discuss Grandma Moses: Who was Grandma Moses? What were her paintings like? Why should we study her? Join us as we chat about the life and works of this American icon and grow to truly appreciate her paintings. Listen on iTunes | Listen on Google Play | Listen on Stitcher Grandma Moses…
Roy Lichtenstein lead such an interesting and varied life! In fact, my first draft of my Lichtenstein lesson plan included over two full pages of background on him! However, since we usually try to only spend 5 minutes talking about the artist before getting into our art project, I went back and cut it down to…
Andrew Wyeth’s paintings carry a contemplative depth to them that is characteristic of his work. He usually used a very limited and sometimes muddy / muted color pallet, achieving incredible emotion. This is not the shock of an Andy Warhol painting, but a more subtle emotion. I find myself staring at Wyeth’s paintings much longer…
Rockwell’s art is fun and often comical. It’s full of childhood mischief and American icons. It makes us smile and leaves us longing for the “good ol’ days.” So, I was surprised when I started reading biographies about Norman Rockwell himself and discovered he was a rather insecure guy with a bad case of perfectionism. Rockwell…
Can I make a confession right from the start? I’ve never really loved Grandma Moses’ art. The lack of accuracy on perspective and proportion gives me a little twitch every time I see it. (There, I said it. My mother is surely shaking her head now.) Even so, I’ve learned several important things from Grandma Moses….
In the 6th week of each year, we have a final drawing project to finish our six-week fine arts unit on drawing. This coming year (Classical Conversations, Cycle 3) we’ll be making an altered version of Grant Wood’s American Gothic. Even if you don’t recognize the name, I’m sure you’ve seen the painting. It has a woman…
In week 4 of our homeschool community we’ll be doing an abstract art project. Did you know some of the earliest examples of abstract art we know of are from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) in China? Of course, in the western world, abstract art really gained traction in response to the realism of the Classical period of…
Between Columbus, the Mayflower and the Boston Tea Party, I feel like Classical Conversations’ Cycle three, which includes American History, is a great time to draw an old ship! Plus, I really love the old ships. As an aside, there’s a great little Maritime Museum in San Diego In it, you’re allowed to explore ships…
In week 2 of our Classical Conversations (CC) year, we always have an art project based on symmetry, or “mirror images” as the CC Foundations Guide puts it. This is a fun week that involves a little brain stretching, but it’s important both for becoming a more skilled artist and for supporting many non-art related…
I’m excited to start another year in our homeschool community learning about the fundamentals of drawing. We’ll start week 1 working with basic shapes. Understanding how to see something as a collection of its basic shapes is a fundamental skill when drawing. In Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes, she talks about “the five basic…
Thank you all for all your encouragement and support over the last few months! You guys are so kind and I just love hearing and seeing all the art projects you’re doing in your classrooms. We’re winding down our homeschool year and I’ve been focused on planning the art curriculum for next year! We’ll be…
What Could Do All That??? According to this article in the Chicago Tribune, practicing handwriting aids in memory and inspires confidence. It engages different parts of the brain than typing and correlates with better grades. “For children handwriting is extremely important. Not how well they do it, but that they do it and practice it”…
