a mid-way critique

The 5th grade art majors have been hard at work on a series of animal drawings. They chose photos of animal that were significant to them and focused on small parts of the animal to create four drawings. They drew the animal "pieces," added cross-hatching, and are beginning to watercolor paint on top.

We're at about the halfway point for this lesson, so I wanted to do a quick, informal critique. Each artist laid their artwork out just as it was and they traveled the room to observe the artwork of their classmates. Sticky notes were available for the artists to comment on the work.We discussed the importance of offering constructive criticism and offering suggestions when commenting (i.e. explaining what you like about a piece of art).

Everyone got into commenting on the artwork and I think it made all of the artists feel good to read the feedback about their work. I'm hoping to do this with every big lesson throughout the year.

When everything is finished and dry, they will stitch the drawings together. I'll post photos of the finished products soon!

Audubon and a little cross-hatching

Third grade PES artists have been studying the painter John James Audubon. They explored Audubon's bird paintings and used our classroom books, encyclopedias, and the internet to find images of birds that were interesting to them. The artists lightly drew their birds with pencil, then began using Sharpie markers/pens to add value and details using a cross-hatching method.

Cross-hatching is a drawing technique in which an artist uses small lines- or hatches- to create value in a drawing. The closer the lines are together, the darker the value. Here is a great example of cross hatching, but the video is a little long. Fast forward to the good part!

Our plan is to add color using watercolor paints, but I am so excited about these drawings that I wanted to share them a little early! Aren't they beautiful?

Now, Audubon was a lot more than an artist. He was a scientist, a naturalist, and an explorer. He travelled North America extensively looking for birds to draw and document for his book, Birds of America. This book features life-sized paintings of birds from throughout our continent and the first part was published in 1827. The National Audubon Society was named in John James Audubon's honor. They are a group dedicated to the conservation of birds and they continue to do great work for animals and wildlife protection.

The National Gallery of Art has a great collection of paintings and prints by Audubon on their website!

Update!