Monday, April 18, 2016

Artist of the Week- Jackson Pollack

        


  Jackson Pollack


What did he paint? 
Drip Paintings


What do you like to draw?

What can I learn from him?
Action Painting. You can dribble, splash or smear paint onto the canvas, rather than carefully apply it.


Now you try it!
Drip paint onto your paper using a tool or directly from your tube or paint pot.


Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Artist of the Week - Henri Matisse

      

 Henri Matisse


What did he paint?
Very colorful paintings, drawings and paper cut outs


What do you like to draw?

What can I learn from him?
Collage-Using pieces of  paper to make shapes and paste on paper to make colorful pictures.




Now you try it!
Find colorful paper. Cut pieces and paste on paper to make a collage.

See more colorful paintings by Matisse by clicking here!









Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Artist of the Week: Vincent Van Gogh

              

  Vincent Van Gogh


What did he paint?
Bright and bold paintings based on his feelings.

What do you like to draw?

What can I learn from him?
It's fun to draw from your feelings.

How does this painting by Van Gogh make you feel?










Now you try it!
Draw a picture about how you feel.

 Click here to see more paintings by Van Gogh

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Artist of the Week- George Inness

      
  
George Inness



What did he paint?

Landscapes- Landscapes are pictures of nature; trees, flowers, and fields. Sometimes they have animals and people in them.


What can I learn from him?
Tonalism- George Inness used only a few colors to paint his pictures. What colors do you see in this picture?



Now you try it!
Make a picture using only 3 colors.

Click here to see more

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Adopt The Arts

An old classmate of mine, Matt Sorum,  became a drummer for well known rock bands, and is now giving back through a non-profit call Adopt the Arts. adopthearts.com  He is working with other celebrities to encourage and promote the arts in public schools. Please support this incredible cause.  The arts are so important to children's healthy development, well being, and learning! In Matt's case, music helped him through a tough emotional time as a child. Taking the arts out of the schools  hamstrings a child with the rest of their learning. It makes no sense. My son's teacher could no longer use art in her classroom because it was not directly related to improving test scores, not even to support academic subjects.  This kind of circular reasoning is short of insanity.  Please support the arts in public schools by supporting organizations like Adopt the Arts, or better yet, get involved with your local PTA and help your school keep the arts alive.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Cacophony not for Kids

The current exhibit at the Fullerton College Art Center in Santa Ana features The Cacophony Society. A group of "artists" who like surrealist sabotage, gluing toasters to light posts, filling teddy bears with cement and placing them on actual store shelves, and this is just the tame part of their activities. The exhibit itself is disturbing. The overtones are violent, depressing, destructive, and brutal.  There is no positive energy in the exhibit. Just immaturity. One of the featured exhibits shows members in a bathroom rubbing what looks like excrement on themselves and others. We'd like to hope our kids stop playing with their poop by two years of age, not twenty! This society seems comprised of adults who do not want to grow up. Whereas the rest of us realized  we must grow or die, this groups philosophy seems like they'd rather die then grow. 
Keep the kids away from this one. Adults  who feel nostalgic for their crazy adolescence can probably get a kick out of it.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Help me Start Something That Matters!

I've just finished reading Blake Mycoskie's amazing book, Start Something That Matters. Some of you may know Blake from his unique company TOMS  founded on a simple principle of buy one, give one. Every time you buy a pair of TOMS shoes, a pair is given to a child in need. (He has since expanded into eyewear which applies the same principle.) TOMS has inspired me to start my own non-profit for the arts.  After watching the Haiti Earthquake on TV a couple of years ago, I saw images of children lying in hospitals.  Their immediate survival  needs were taken care of  but they were missing one essential secondary need every mother  knows. Crayons and Paper. Art Heals the Soul.  As they languished in hospitals or camps, boredom is the next obstacle to overcome. I would like to start a non-profit to simply give kids crayons and paper.  How can I start? Whoever gives me the best suggestion will receive a free copy of Blake Mycoskie's Start Something That Matters.