October Update!

Let's take a look at what I've been up to in the art room this October!

Studio Art: Completed Dia De Los Muertos Projects!

Drawing and Painting: Completed Chiaroscuro Self Portraits with Charcoal

For this project students took a self portrait reference photo using one strong direction of light to create a chiaroscuro effect. They rendered their portrait using charcoal techniques, and scaled their drawings to 16x20 inch toned paper. We use Canson Mi Tientes, it holds the charcoal really well.

AP Drawing: Completed "Trapped in Technology Breadth"

For this breadth piece students take photos of themselves or each other using a strong direction of light coming from a technological source such as a cell hone or iPad. By selecting a color and displaying it full screen with brightness up all the way, the color casts on to the portrait. This project is inspired by Dan Witz's cell phone paintings that combine together the chiaroscuro lighting of Renaissance painting, with a modern twist. Students rendered these using chalk pastels, or colored pencil on black paper or acrylic paint. 

What's Next??

November begins a busy season in the art room! We finished our first marking period, so we're on to the 2nd already. All classes are starting on new projects; Studio will be doing Pop Art Portrait paintings, Drawing and Painting will be doing figurative watercolors, and AP will be critiquing their concentration works and working on two breadths that stem from in class observational assignments that span 10 days.

We also are dedicated the end of the month to Art College and Careers in the arts. We have some great schools coming to visit, and our first ever Art Alumni Day which I'm helping to organize. I truly feel that by showing kids at an early stage in their high school career the options that are out there fro them to utilize being creative, we are going to have more young adults going out into the world with better tools they need to succeed in any career.  

Students will also be going on a field trip with me to the Whitney Museum to see the Andy Warhol retrospective! I'm very excited about this!! 

I'm also hosting a Pixel Art painting workshop where I'll be going through the steps to create pixel art paintings, and hosting a Schoology tutorial workshop for my district. On top of all of this, my National Art Honor Society members are prepping their holiday crafts and ornaments to sell. Busy, busy, busy! I can't believe Thanksgiving will already be here in two short weeks!! Can't wait to share more! Check back!

xo,
​Danielle