Art Classes Resume!

Well, we're back!  Hope everyone had a wonderful summer!

As of Tuesday, September 13th, I'll be resuming afterschool classes at Runnymede Public School, with sessions running weekly throughout the school year.  At some point, if participants are interested, I think we should do some paper mache and clay sculpture.   Of course, we'll also continue drawing and painting, employing a variety of materials and techniques --- no end to what can be done in that department! 

I'll also be back at Swansea Town Hall as of Monday, Oct. 3rd, holding classes weekly from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.  All ages and levels are welcome to join ---  Hope to see you there!

It's Summer!

Well, summer is here!  A huge thank you to all our participants for helping to make Art Tracks a success!  Many of you have already dispersed to various summer destinations:   We said good-bye to Tessa a month ago when she packed her bags and left for Shadow Lake,  a Community Living camp for people with special needs.  She's working there as the camp nutritionist for the second year in a row.   As for the rest of our family, we'll be heading north; I intend to spend the next few weeks outdoors as much as possible, armed with brushes and paint!   Have a wonderful summer everyone --- draw, paint, read, play an instrument, swim or do whatever it is you love to do!  We'll meet again in September!

Beautiful Cow! Irene's first drawing on the last day!

For the past year, Julia has been badgering her mom, Irene to take an art lesson with her.   With some trepidation, Irene finally consented to give it a try.   The lovely cow you see here is her very first drawing, produced on our last day!   Great work, Irene!  Have a wonderful summer!

Landscape in watercolour by Emily (grade 9) work in progress

Julia's sister, Emily, also joined us on the last day.  After sketching a landscape based on a calendar photo, she began blocking in her big shapes with watercolours.  There was not sufficient time for her to finish, but even at this stage, there's a wonderful sweeping feel to her water, and a general unity to the whole picture.   Lovely work Emily!

Loon - work in progress by Julia

Julia's drawing and painting skills have really developed over the past year.  Using a reference photo, she was able to complete her sketch of the loon in a single session.  Her pencil lines are clear and confident, and her proportions accurate.  The next steps involved applying washes of blue and green to her background, thereby throwing her subject into relief.   Although she didn't have time to finish, I think you'll agree she's made a wonderful start.   Have a great summer Julia --- we'll continue in the fall! 

End of the year cake painting

With summer almost here, some of our after school participants decided they wanted to paint a cake on their last day.   Armed with  icing, food colouring and sprinkles, look below to see what can happen when the cake becomes the canvas!

Guin's horse cake!

Niah's blue elephant cake!

Teddy bear cake! (Tess)

Funny Face Cake! (by Chloe)

Horse by Leah (grade 5)

Great horse, Leah!  Nice use of washes on the dark surface of the horse!

Julia painting a landscape at sunset.

June is such a busy month!   So little time to wrap everything up before the summer break!  No matter, Julia begins two new projects, a landscape and another bird study!  If she finishes before the break, that's great; if she doesn't, well, that's O.K. too!  Here she is working on a landscape, having declared she needs to branch out and try something she hasn't done before.  Bravo Julia!

Tessa - co-instructor at Art Tracks

My daughter, Tessa Hallman-Chong, co-teaches with me at Art Tracks  when her schedule permits.  An accomplished artist in her own right, Tessa also coordinates programs for people with special needs as well as attending Ryerson University's School of Social Work.  Because of her busy schedule, she is presently able to join us only occasionally.  However, on those occasions when is is able to do so, students are invariably delighted by her knowledge and enthusiasm.  

Tessa conferring with Taylore and Leah

Wild Flowers by Tess (grade 4)

As we progressed into the wonderful sultry month of June, my "after school artists" frequently arrived hot, flushed, thirsty and "dying" for something cold!  Fortunately for them, dismissal from school during the warm weather just happens to coincide with the arrival of an ice cream truck parked handily just beside the school's hillside garden.   On one such day, we decided to begin our session with a visit to the ice cream man, and on our way back Tess plucked a few tendrils of  a the tiny wild flowers sprouting up along the path.  Upon arriving back in the art room, she arranged them in a small jar and produced this little painting.

Driftwood and lemon by Taylore (grade 5)

There's a nice movement to this whimsical little arrangement of driftwood and lemon.  The somewhat abstract form of the driftwood leads the eye across the page, with the lemon pulling our view down, around and up again. 

Portrait of Van Gogh by Niah (grade 6)

I think Mr. Van Gogh would approve of this piece, rendered in a style much like his own!  Very nicely done, especially considering this was Niah's very first portrait!

Niah (grade 6) working out measurements of a head

Many people are a little intimidated by the idea of doing a portrait.  To overcome those fears, we focus more on the general proportions of the head --- the correct placement of eyes, nose, mouth and ears, rather than worrying too much about drawing an exact replica of the subject.   Sometimes we practise self portraits using mirrors, or sometimes we draw each other.  Here, Niah has decided to use a picture reference to create a portrait of Van Gogh. 

Stones and Shells - still life by Maddie

Maddie has a distinct style --- strong, purposeful lines and bold colour.  Presented with some gravel and sea shells, she immediately created a still life arrangement and got down to painting, never stopping until she was finished.   Notice how she portrays gravel --- tiny spots of colour densely clustered in the center around the shells, becoming gradually larger and farther apart toward the edges of her paper.

Mini Daffodils -still life by Niah (grade 6)

Niah has remarkable "colour sense"!  Look at the way she places her bright yellow blooms against a vivid blue background, drawing immediate attention to her focal point.  She doesn't stop there either --- note the wrapping on the flower pot --- First she applies bright red to the top of the  wrapping, then she repeats the same colour on the table below, pulling the viewer's eye down and around her painting.   I also really like the shadow above and below the ribbon.   Nice work!

Sea Shells and Water - Still life - Mixed media - by Taylor (grade 6)

Taylor arranged this little scene of sand, gravel and sea shells on her drawing board, and then, viewing it through a picture frame, began to draw.  Done in pastel and watercolour, I particularly like the way she  conveys a sense of water shifting over and and around the shells, as though the viewer is right there with toes in the sand, looking down.  Holiday anyone?   

Strawberries - Still life by Ria

As this little piece demonstrates, a good painting does not require exotic subject matter; some of the best art centers on everyday subjects.   At first glance, a plastic box of strawberries on a white plastic table may seem rather uninspiring.  However, by angling the box so that it lies diagonal to her frame, and paying attention to the contours of clear plastic against the white background, Ria turns a seemingly  mundane subject into an interesting study.  And just look at those berries!  Doesn't this picture make you want to go out and buy a box?

Onions, garlic & fruit - still life by Ria (Cropped Version)

Would you believe that at one point Ria considered this beautiful little painting a failure?  While adding her finishing touches, she inadvertently applied a colour she didn't want just under the bowl.  The more she tried to adjust it, the muddier it became, until she finally declared the whole thing a loss and cast it aside. Months later, she rediscovered it and we looked at it again together.   The first thing that that hit me was how effectively she conveys texture in this picture --- her fruit appears positively succulent, the onions smooth and tender, the garlic,  crisp and papery.  The areas in light are well modelled and thrown into relief by the areas in shadow.  And the colours are clear and transparent --- except, Ria lamented, for that muddy area below the bowl.   And that area, she felt, basically ruined the picture.   Well, I said, why don't you crop it?   You could cut off  the bottom of the page, removing the base of the bowl along with the offending smudge below.  If you do this, you might want to balance it by cropping the right side of the paper as well.  The result will be a closer view of the subject (see  the picture above) but as a  composition, I think it works very well.   Have a look and tell us, what do you think?

Plush Turtle - Still life by Tess (grade 4)

When I mentioned to students that I would like them to create a still life arrangement of their own, Tess knew exactly what she wanted to do.  As luck would have it, she had brought a beautiful plush turtle to school that day;  after placing a sea shell beside it, she was soon busily drawing.  Notice how effectively she captured the plush texture of her subject!  When I asked Tess what she planned to do for her background, she told me the turtle would be pictured swimming free in the ocean --- hence the watery blue environment.  There is a real feeling of happiness in this picture.

Sea Shells and Gravel by Niah (grade 6)

Niah also created a still life arrangement this week out of sea shells and gravel  and then drew it looking through a picture frame.   I love her treatment of the stones, rendered in pale yellows, golds, browns and blacks.  Niah has a wonderful sense of colour, and decided take a little artistic licence with the colour of her shells, which in reality were rather bleached and faded.   Accordingly,  she painted  the one on the right, a bright blue, and made several others a pale pink ---  definitely an improvement! 

Still life arrangement - work in progress - Chloe (grade4)

Chloe created her still life out of a number of  items around her --- an apple, a ruler, a stapler and eraser.  I particularly like her treatment of the apple, which she rendered in a loose impressionistic style --- that is, until hunger overcame her and she ate it up!   No matter, we'll bring another apple next session!   The addition of a backgroundwill  unify the various elements of this picture, bringing the whole thing together.  Nice work Chloe!

Birds - Watercolours by Ria

Ria's bird studies, taken from magazine photos (Birds and Blooms) and cropped to her liking, reveal a keen awareness of proportion and anatomical detail.   Yet, for all her attention to detail, these compostions avoid the common pitfall of appearing overworked or "busy".    Notice how she keeps her colours clear and her backgrounds relatively simple and unified --- not an easy fete!  There is a lovely airiness to these little pictures; I'm not sure which one I like best --- I wonder, what do you think? 

Finch - by Ria

chickadee by Ria

Seagull - by Ria

Robin by Ria

Squirrel - Acryilic painting in progress - by Katherine (grade 9)

Some people love the lightness and transparency of watercolour, others prefer the heavier, opaque qualities of acrylic and oil.  It's all a matter of personal taste, and Katherine, leaning toward the latter group, has decided to paint her squirrel with acrylics.  She's made a great start here, blocking in her background with solid colour and moving carefully around the edges of her center of interest, bringing it into focus even before it is painted.   Even at this early stage, there's a nice feeling of unity to this picture.  Looks promising!   

Katherine (grade 9) "Drawing and Quartering"

Here we see Katherine using a photo from a wildlife magazine as she sketches a squirrel.  To aid the process, she has placed a transparent sheet of  plastic over her image and drawn horizontal and vertical lines on it, dividing the image into quarters.   She has likewise divided her drawing paper with light pencil lines.   Quartering an image this way can make it easier to determine the position, size and relationships between various elements in the picture.  As Katherine is already proficient at drawing, I am certain she would have produced a very good rendition of a squirrel with or without this exercise.  However, she  claims it made the process easier and faster, and within a short time she had a remarkably accurate sketch, ready to paint!  

Cardinal -Watercolour by Clara (grade 2)

Clara drew her cardinal using a reference photo, and it's clear she has a very good eye for proportion and detail.  She also has a real feel for watercolour --- note the exceptional delicacy of her background wash and blossoms, not to mention the little red bird!  Lovely work, Clara! 

Maddie - (grade 2) two paintings

Maddie doesn't fool around ---Give her some space and a few art supplies, and she gets right down to business!  Here, you can see she's  been drawing as well as experimenting with washes of colour.     I find the composition on the left particularly interesting from a creative standpoint:  Using a reference picture,  Maddie began by drawing a rot iron fence in the foreground.  She then disgarded her reference photo and began  working purely  from her imagination, creating         a complex background of buildings and sky!  Great work!

Cat by Tess (grade 4)

Tess has a great sense of colour and design, as illustrated by this striking composition in bright orange, blue and black (yes, black can be bright!)  I love the big, bold shapes that go past the edges of her paper --- very nice work, Tess! 

Cat - watercolour by Julia

Love this cat, Julia! 

Julia's 2 birds - finished!

These two birds look great in their black makeup, Julia!

Julia putting finishing touches on 2 birds

Julia's butterfly, ready to paint

Julia took her time carefully drawing this butterfly  using a photo from a wildlife calendar.

Penguins - work in progress by Katherine

Although this painting appears to be done in water colour, Katherine is actually using acrylics thinned with warter.   She  with began with a simple pencil sketch of the iceberg and penguins.  Then, using a square brush, she applied water to her background area,  followed by a wash of ultramarine blue.  Note the swirls light and dark blue where the paint spread across the damp surface of her paper.  This effect was partly achieved by picking up the drawing board (to which her paper was taped) and  tipping it this way and that so that the paint flowed in interesting patterns.
When her background was dry, she dampened the ice berg, and applied a touch of yellow and blue to capture the faint greenish tint of the ice.  Now only the penguins await her finishing touch --- they'll get their little black jackets next time!.  Looks promising, Katherine!

Lily - water colour by Julia

Great Lily, Julia!

Still life studies in water colour - by Julia

I  like the loose, relaxed style of these little studies.   Julia painted them fairly quickly, using a limited pallet of only three or fours colours for each.  Luscious looking fruit, too! 

Flowers and Butterfly - by Leah (grade 5)

Leah spent several  classes working on this piece, and I think it's safe to say her efforts paid off!  This is a lovely, delicate drawing with gorgeous colour.  I also like the way she balances the positive shapes of the flower and butterfly with the negative shapes of her background.  Take a look at those background shapes, for example, the space enclosed between  the flower stem on the left and the flower petals on the right, or the three spaces between the petals in the lower right hand corner.  Each space forms an interesting abstract shape, adding interest  to the overall composition.  

Bison at Sunset by Chloe (grade 4)

Emboldened by her success painting seals and ice, Chloe now moves on to bisons and sunsets.  For this picture, she sketched the bison and land in pencil.  She then went to work on the sky, using a square brush to wet the entire area with water. Then starting at the top of her page, she applied a wash of crimson, moving her brush horizontally, and gradually working down.  Because the paint was wet and the paper was wet, much of the colour moved on it's own; near the middle and bottom of her sky, she added some yellow and orange as well.  Next, she added some purple and blue to the top, thereby deepening the colour to create the feeling of oncoming night.  Once satisfied with her sky, she let it dry before applying black to the bison and land.   Great job, Chloe!

Seals on ice - by Chloe (grade 4)

Chloe decided to try water colour for this picture of two seals. After drawing her animals, she used a large brush to cover her background with water, taking care to  go around the seals so that they would remain dry.   She then mixed a puddle of ice blue colour, applied it to the wet paper, letting the wet paint roll around and spread out.  When satisfied with her background, she let it dry before moving on to paint the seals.  I think she effectively captured frozen landscape these two little guys inhabit!

Arabian horse - pastel - by Guin (grade 5)

Would anyone guess that Guin knows and loves horses?  Having meticulously worked out her  plan (see previous post), she finishes up with colour.  This is a very nice portrait on several levels --- note how her composition comprises 3 main shapes  ---  the light, positive shape of the horse's head and neck in the middle,  the darker green shape of the stable door to the left and bottom, and the black negative space to the top and right.  There's a  unity to these shapes,  like the pieces of a puzzle.    As well, she uses subtle colour on the white horse to convey the surface contours on its head and neck.  She also captures the lovely soft expression of the animal's eye.

Horse - work in progress by Guin

Guin kindly provided us with some photo references of horses, and selected one for her pastel drawing.  Here you can see she has blocked out her drawing, taking care to get the general proportions accurate.  Great start!

Blue Jay in pastel - by Taylor (grade 6)

Taylore selected the reference photo for this one from a stack of calender pictures, got out her pastels, a piece of blue construction paper and began to draw.  She worked swiftly and confidently in the way of someone who knows exactly where they are going.  Note the strong sure lines she uses to convey the pine needles and her creative and very convincing use of light and dark on the branch to convey the rough texture of bark!

Pastel Rabbits - Tess

Love these bunnies in clover!

Chipmunk - pastel drawing by Niah

Great use of colour in the background leaves!

Elephants by Niah (grade 5)

Niah's first picture in pastel shows her good eye for proportion and a real flair for colour!  In her original reference photo, two grey elephants stood against a background of faded greys, ochers and browns.  Such lack of  contrast and colour can add up to a rather dull painting.   In response to this problem, Niah positioned some dark vegetation next to the light coloured animals.  She then filled her background with a combination of  warm yellow and orange, which contrasts nicely with the pale tones of the elephants,  and captures the feeling of intense sunlight and  heat.   Nice use of cool tones in the shadow areas too!    

Chloe`s Muskrat

Chloe (in grade four) did a muskrat for her first picture.  Using a reference photo and working with oil pastels on coloured paper,  she produced this remarkably delicate drawing.  I particularly like the way she captured the reflections in the water.