WHO'S LURKING IN THE SHADOWS?

SHAPES OF SHADOWS

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

india ink on smooth bristol board w/ watercolor & collage accents

Senior Ylia Matayag was gracious enough to agree to be our model for this assignment.

We sat her in a dark corner of the room and shone a bright light on her upper body 

to bring out the shape of the shadows on her face, hair and shoulder area.

The kids sat in a semi-circle around her so they each had a slightly different point of view.

They used graphite first to lightly draw in ONLY the shapes of the shadows cast on her.

This was very difficult for the students to grasp 

even though we had done a very similar prior assignment.

Once drawn they used a soft watercolor brush and India Ink to paint those shadows in.

Then they had a choice,

to bring in watercolor or collage accents. 

We all really liked what senior Sarah Oh did with her watercolors,

but at first she had only done it in the background.

But after the critique we convinced her to also bring some into the face and shoulders

for a super cool piece.

Senior Tiffany Chen also used a watercolor accent and painted it all the way thru the portrait.

I love that she turned it into a fabulous landscape complete with castle.

I also really liked the fine felt marker she brought in to pop it and to add the birds.

William Tan, senior, choose watercolor as well.  

He had her frontal as his point of view.

I love the quiet, contented sense of self he brought into her face 

by capturing her with her head at a bit of a tilt backwards with eyes closed. 

Brilliant!

And then the watercolor dripping over top her is a marvelous finish.

It was a favorite by the others.

In each of these poses Ylia seems to take on a different nationality.

Here she seems to be taking on characteristics of the Indigenous people of North America.

I love the dynamic collage backdrop that contrasts with the soft stoic face of Ylia.

This was done by junior Angelica Luza.

But it was this one that took my breath away.

Powerful Native American Woman I want to call this.

Senior Mary Kim has brought in both collage and watercolor for a remarkable portrait.

This work was probably one of the most outstanding pieces on display at Open House last year.

WORKING LARGER

FLORAL WATERCOLOR

ADVANCED 2-D ART

watercolors, watercolor paper, watercolor brushes, pen & ink, collage accents, silk flowers

I had one 3rd year art student this year,

senior Samantha Tun.

She was in my 2nd period class along with 28 Beginning and Intermediate 2-D students,

which means I juggled 3 different classes at one time.

A great way to burn calories!

Anyways,

Sam created many outstanding pieces and she especially enjoyed working in watercolor.

I feel it's important for the kids to get a chance to see what it's like to work on a large scale.

So I asked her to design a composition by enlarging a flower

 so that it's parts went off the edge of the paper,

then to paint it with watercolor

and add a bit of paper collage and pen & ink.

Let's see what she came up with .

Lovely isn't it?

Here's a bit better shot below.

And some close-ups so you can see her collage and implied pen & ink lines.

I was so proud of her.

Sam tackles every project with so much confidence.

The large scale (18 by 24) did not intimidate her.

At her age I would have been scared to death because watercolor can be so unforgiving.

Bravo Samantha!!

NO ERASING ALLOWED

STICK & INK MODIFIED CONTOUR DRAWINGS W / WATERCOLOR & COLLAGE

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

sharpened dowel, india ink, watercolor & paper collage

These pieces are so lovely in person

 that at Open House they sell like hot cakes if the kids choose to put them up for sale.

In fact,

our Principal's secretary,

 Suzanne,

owns at least 3 of them,

and recently framed them up so now they look incredible behind glass and over her desk.

No pencils or erasers are allowed in this assignment,

only wooden dowels that the students sharpen and dip into India ink to draw with.

Intimidating?

Yes,

really scary.

But they do a practice piece first 

in Modified Contour and find if they are silent and go deeply into Right Brian,

it can be relaxing and turns out surprisingly well.

I have the kids draw from real life.

 Senior Eileen Lee used one of my sea shells and silk flowers,

then filled in her negative space with the buoy and sun.

After the ink dries,

 the students are required to mix up 3 values of ink wash 

and brush them into areas of shadow.

They were also supposed to bring in watercolor and paper collage accents

 as you will see in all the pieces.

 Eileen also brought in real dried out rose petals that she glued down

for another delightful element to catch the eye.

Senior Jazzerie Lo drew this adorable crab lugging his shell around.

I love how she thought to do him separately and cut him out

 and then to glue him slightly over the frame's edge.

It was a good way to balance the two larger items in the picture plane.

And check out her attention to detail in the crab & shell.

This next sweet piece belongs to junior Samantha Tun. 

You can just feel the music wafting in the breeze.

Next we have senior Malaya Sithichai with this incredibly detailed drawing.

Her use of watercolor was perfectly placed,

and check out the ink washes as well in the wrinkles in the hand.

I just love the playful quality of this work and the colors she used.

In our next one,

 senior Ayesha Durrani has drawn treats everywhere for our eyes.

Check out the fun close-up below.

I'm starting to notice that in all of Ayesha's works,

 she sends a great deal of time on the backdrops.

Reminds me of the work of Alumni Brian Kesinger.

Perhaps there is a future ahead as a story board artist for Ayesha with Disney or Warner Brothers

Our last one by senior Kevin Mao is a beauty.

Great cast shadows, 

just the right amount of watercolor,

well balanced composition.

And the wonderful touches of paper collage in the plants stems.

Go Kevin,

go Kevin!

2 Point Box Construction - Student Work

TWO POINT PERSPECTIVE

BOX CONSTRUCTIONS

Intermediate 2-D Art

Here we see it again with the work of senior Cathy Luo.  Her finished construction before critique, then below, after.  Both times are amazing, but by bringing in the subtle coloring, Cathy makes her work pop even more.  Way to go kiddo!

Here is senior Anne Allen's humorous, complex piece.

 Brilliant Anne!

And I love that senior Justin Hwang thought to collage in his backdrop, then to tie his piece together thru colored pencil.

Lastly we have senior Jasmine Zhao with her very unique solution to this assignment.  Four separate pieces that she tied together, literally, with string and clothespins.  Another visual tie are the colors that she both into all the pieces thru touches of watercolor.

My students loved her piece.