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You are here: Home / Archives for Art Projects

Art Projects

Sep 05 2022

Draw the fall of Jericho

Draw the Fall of Jericho. Art and Bible Series. See the Light Art

Draw through the Bible with black light chalk artist, Jim Pence. This video series is designed for homeschoolers who want to have fun learning art and the Bible. And, in keeping with Jim’s black light chalk artistry, each of these projects incorporate black light chalk or paint.

For more children’s art resources, visit: seethelightshine.com

Draw the Fall of Jericho. Art and Bible Series. See the Light Art

Written by James Pence · Categorized: Art & Bible, Art Projects, Art Tip, Bible Stories, Jim Pence, Uncategorized, Weekly Workshop · Tagged: Art & Bible, Art Class, Art Projects, art tips, Bible Stories, black light, chalk, draw, fluorescent, glow in the dark, Homeschool Art, Jim Pence, video tips, workshop

Jan 10 2022

How to Draw a Marigold Mandala

Marigold Mandala on green background. See the Light Digital Art Projects

Digital Art Projects 1: Marigold Mandala

About the Project:

Here’s a very basic digital art project. No bells or whistles on this one. Just one layer, using a symmetry tool and flood fill.

This is a good, and relatively easy, starter project for a beginner in digital art. 

I titled this, marigold mandala, but didn’t think of that name until after I did the video. As I was drawing, the design kept reminding me of a particular type of flower, but I didn’t remember the name “marigold” until later.

Lesson Objective:

To gain a basic familiarity with the tools and software we’ll be using for future digital art projects, specifically the symmetry tool and autofill (bucket) tool. Also, how to set up a digital canvas. 

 

Resources Needed:

To create this project, I used Autodesk Sketchbook (sketchbook.com) with a Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablet.

You can download Sketchbook free at: www.sketchbook.com

You can get a graphics tablet and pressure-sensitive stylus as low as $27 HERE

Content Guide:

Intro & Software/Hardware – 0:00
Navigating Sketchbook – 4:06
Set Up Your Canvas – 8:00
Select Your Brush – 10:15
Set Up the Symmetry Tool – 11:00
Draw the Mandala – 12:42
Color the Mandala – 18:12

Devotional Thought:

Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these (Luke 12:27 NIV). 

All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall (I Peter 1:24 NIV).

It’s interesting to note that when scripture refers to flowers, it is almost always with an eye towards either God’s provision or peoples’ temporality. The two verses above are representative of the divergent thought lines. In one, Jesus instructs his hearers to consider the wildflowers, how God clothes them even more majestically than Solomon in his splendor. In the second verse, Peter is quoting from Isaiah 40 and emphasizing that human splendor and glory passes away with the speed and finality of a flower dying.

They are dramatically different thoughts, and yet there is a powerful connection. I am to trust in the God who created the heavens and the earth, knowing that He will provide for me–whatever I need. The wildflowers are to be my example. 

On the other hand, I should never seek my own glory and power, because I–and my presence and glory on this earth–will pass away quickly and with barely a trace left behind. The wildflowers are to be my example.

As you draw this digital “flower,” remember the wildflowers. They will remind you to trust God and seek his kingdom and glory–not your own. — Jim Pence

See the Light Art Class 9-DVD Boxed Set
Try 3 Free Lessons!

Download 3 video art lessons on us!

What you’ll learn…

The foundational skill of art is drawing.

Whether you’re using a pencil, pen, brush, or a piece of chalk, it’s all about drawing.

In your free lessons, you’ll learn…

…The basics of what makes a drawing
…What you need to have in your drawing “toolkit”
…The most essential skill of drawing
…How to synchronize your hand and your eyes
…The basics of composition

Written by James Pence · Categorized: Art Projects, Digital Art, Jim Pence, Uncategorized, Weekly Workshop · Tagged: Art, art tips, digital art, Homeschool Art, Jim Pence, video tips, workshop

Oct 25 2021

Mary Cassatt: American Impressionist

Guest Post by Pat Knepley

Mary Cassatt American ImpressionistMost people think of France when they think of the Impressionism era of art. And indeed, French Impressionism is the most famous branch of that era and has the most recognized names in history: Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne.

But there were many American artists that had also adapted the techniques and sensibilities of the Impressionist movement. Mary Cassatt was one of these.

Mary Cassatt’s Early Life

Mary Stevenson Cassatt could be considered both French and American. She was born in a small town outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in May  1844. Raised in a wealthy family, she was brought up to be a lady and eventually a wife and mother. But Mary had other ideas.

While she was young, Mary traveled with her family all over the world, and in fact had drawing lessons when she visited the cities of London, Paris and Rome. She even learned to speak German and French.

Much to her father’s dismay, she enrolled in Art school in Philadelphia when she was 16, since her family moved to that area when she was six.  Cassatt experienced some discrimination, as the male establishment there did not take kindly to a woman who actually wanted to make art her profession rather than just a hobby. Frustrated with the lack of seriousness she experienced, she left the Academy of Fine Arts without completing her studies and moved to Paris in 1866 to study with Masters on her own.

 

Cassatt’s Education in Paris

Under the instruction of the French artist Jean-Leon Gerome, Cassatt went to the Paris museum the Louvre every day to copy masterworks.  This is where many of the young French artists met the Americans who came there to learn side by side. Cassatt painted in the traditional, realistic style, and submitted works to be shown at the Paris Salon, the premier place for artists to showcase their works. She would have some pieces accepted to show at the Salon, but saw discrimination there, too. It was a constant struggled to be accepted as a serious female artist.

In 1871, she traveled to Italy to work on a commission by the Archbishop of Pittsburgh, and while there she painted “Two Women Throwing Flowers During Carnival” that was shown at the Salon of 1872 and brought her notoriety. After a trip to Spain to study paintings there, Cassatt made the decision in 1874 to settle in Paris and make it her home. Her sister Lydia decided to join her and be her roommate.

Influences on Cassatt

France was her home for most of her adult life. Cassatt continued to submit her artwork to the Paris Salon but became disenchanted with the politics, and in 1877, for the first time in seven years, she had no art shown there. SO her friend, artist Edgar Degas, invited Cassatt to show her work with a group of artists known as the Impressionists. This band of maverick painters had rallied together to create their own art show in opposition to the Salon that they felt was stuck in tradition. Since Cassatt admired Degas and his art greatly, she readily accepted his invitation and began to paint with gusto. She exhibited with the Impressionists for the first time in April 1879. Over a period of two years, her brushstrokes loosened up, and she adopted a style of more immediacy.

Cassatt liked to paint spontaneous scenes from daily life, particularly situations involving mothers and children. This became the motif of most of her paintings, though she did paint landscapes and other scenes. But her tender portrayal of the bond between a mother and child is the theme most identified with Cassatt.

Caresse Maternelle - Painting by Mary Cassatt
Caresse Maternelle – Painting by Mary Cassatt

With the influence of the French impressionist painters that she socialized with, Cassatt explored a lighter touch and more pastel colors that created a softness that suited her subject matter.  She was especially influenced by her dear friend Edgar Degas, who mastered chalk pastels as well as oil paint.  Cassatt also used this new medium to great effect as she moved away from the traditional painting style employed at the start of her career.

Cassatt’s Growing Popularity

Cassatt remained with the Impressionists through 1886. During the time she considered herself an Impressionist, she brought the paintings of her French artist friends to the attention of many American collectors, thus she was instrumental in highlighting this art movement back home.   Cassatt never married, as she felt that it would not be compatible to her career as an artist, though she was devoted to her parents and siblings, and certainly was a loyal and dear friend to all who knew her.  One wonders if she had a maternal streak as her portraits of mothers with children are so captivatingly real without being overly sentimental.

Cassatt’s work finally became popular with audiences and critics in the 1900s, and she continued painting her best-known subject of mother and child until near blindness forced her to give up painting in 1914. She died in 1926 in a town near Paris and is buried with her family in France.

Mother Feeding Her Child - Painting by Mary Cassatt
Mother Feeding Her Child

Mary Cassatt Art Project

For an art class project, Home educators can view some of the many works of Mary Cassatt with their students, then ask them to draw in chalk pastels or colored pencils an everyday activity that is done with Mom or Grandmom.

In Cassatt’s “Young Mother Sewing”, a preschool-aged child leans into her mother’s lap as the mother continues to mend a garment. The two are happy to simply be in each other’s presence during this routine task.

Start with the basic form of the mother, and place her in the scene with whatever the activity is. Rather than trying to fit the mom’s entire body, think in terms of a

Young Mother Sewing - Painting by Mary Cassatt
Young Mother Sewing

close-up – focus on the area of activity. Is it the hands doing something? The face?  Some suggestions for activities would be washing the dishes, walking the dog, brushing your hair, setting a table, or even reading a book together. Once the mother figure is in place with some sketched in lines, then add in the child or children of your family. Fill in with pastel colors.  Once the pastel drawing is complete, take outside on a non-windy day and spray lightly with cheap aerosol hairspray to set the chalk pastel.  A mother and child drawing in the style of Mary Cassatt would be a great gift for mom or grandmother as well!

Here’s a fun video on the works of Mary Cassatt:

Learn about another impressionist, Georges Seurat, with our Art Projects DVD, Pointillism Fruit:

Art Projects: Pointillism Fruit (Georges Seurat)

Written by James Pence · Categorized: Art Projects, Impressionism, Uncategorized

Sep 27 2021

Art Project: His Eye is on the Sparrow – Pt. 5

Draw the Fence Posts and Sparrow

In this pastel painting workshop from See the Light, artist Jim Pence demonstrates how to draw the fence posts and sparrow in his pastel painting, “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”

See the Light Art Class 9-DVD Boxed Set
Try 3 Free Lessons!

Download 3 video art lessons on us!

What you’ll learn…

The foundational skill of art is drawing.

Whether you’re using a pencil, pen, brush, or a piece of chalk, it’s all about drawing.

In your free lessons, you’ll learn…

…The basics of what makes a drawing
…What you need to have in your drawing “toolkit”
…The most essential skill of drawing
…How to synchronize your hand and your eyes
…The basics of composition

Written by James Pence · Categorized: Art Projects, Art Tip, Jim Pence, Uncategorized, Weekly Workshop · Tagged: Art Projects, art tips, chalk, draw, Homeschool Art, Jim Pence, pastels, workshop

Sep 20 2021

Art Project: His Eye is on the Sparrow, Pt 4

Draw a Field of Yellow Flowers

Summer Art Project: Draw the Foreground

In this workshop from See the Light,  artist Jim Pence demonstrates how to draw the foreground in his pastel painting, “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”

You’ll need some yellow pastels to do this part of the drawing.

[COUPON IS EFFECTIVE FROM 8/6/2019 THROUGH 8/13/2019]

Written by James Pence · Categorized: Art Projects, Art Tip, Jim Pence, Weekly Workshop · Tagged: Art Projects, Homeschool Art, Jim Pence, pastels, video tips, workshop

Sep 03 2021

Art Project: His Eye is on the Sparrow, Pt. 2

Draw Distant Hills

In Part 2 of this pastel painting workshop from See the Light, artist Jim Pence demonstrates how to draw distant hills in soft pastel.

See the Light Art Class 9-DVD Boxed Set
Try 3 Free Lessons!

Download 3 video art lessons on us!

What you’ll learn…

The foundational skill of art is drawing.

Whether you’re using a pencil, pen, brush, or a piece of chalk, it’s all about drawing.

In your free lessons, you’ll learn…

…The basics of what makes a drawing
…What you need to have in your drawing “toolkit”
…The most essential skill of drawing
…How to synchronize your hand and your eyes
…The basics of composition

Written by James Pence · Categorized: Art Projects, Uncategorized, Weekly Workshop · Tagged: Art Projects, Homeschool Art, Jim Pence, mountains, pastels, workshop

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