Look, Mom! No Eraser!

While I can draw, I have never been the master that I could become with time and practice.

Honestly, I lack the discipline for it, and envy those who have it. It is a skill that must be honed regularly, or your eyes and hands will get rusty. My style of drawing is more gesture, shadow, and light. I know how to complete a contour drawing, but am better at gesture drawing.

I find that the more I try to figure out how to explain what I know to elementary students about how to draw, the better artist I become. (This is one of my favorite things about being an art teacher.)

My latest assignment for 4th and 5th grade has them drawing animals following a short Power Point tutorial on shading and value. We have touched upon techniques like hatching, cross hatching, contour hatching, blending, and stippling.
I have discovered that I have requested that my students do the most difficult thing first. I've asked them to draw an animal from their imagination, and to imagine where light and shadow might be. Some love this. Frankly, upper elementary level students want their drawings to be accurate from the start. My erasers are getting as much use as my pencils!






This week I have given them a collection of books and magazines with photos of animals in them. (Some want to continue drawing imaginary animals, and I am asking these children to use the pictures as references for how to draw a wing or beak.)  I photocopied about 75 pictures in black and white.  I've used my planning today to do exactly what I want them to do, only I have not allowed myself the luxury of using an eraser. Here are a few of my drawings and notes.

These are incomplete on purpose. I want my students to see the process as I work.

 

 

Student work 03-26-13