Blackfoot Art Center

Poppy Fields, Like Monet

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:27:15 +0000

Poppy Field (Giverny) 1890-91

In celebration of spring, we painted a field of poppies in the style of Claude Monet. We always enjoy painting poppies because they are so bright and cheery!

I have found that beginners can create this theme very successfully in either tempera paint or watercolor. This eight-year-old is tempera painting on white sulfite paper (heavy drawing paper), 12" x 18".

The painting is started at the top after first drawing or painting a horizon line. The sky is painted, clouds added, and then the grassy green areas are painted all the way to the bottom.

Note: We always mix our own greens by adding yellow or a bit of orange or blue to the standard Kelly green that is found in most paint sets. Have a nice big mixing pallet available!

Next, a few darker green blotches are painted along the horizon line and tops of hills to represent distant trees. Then the bright red flowers are added: simple blotches of color in the background to represent patches of flowers, then individual flowers in the foreground. A few might have black centers for added detail.

The last step is to add a few blades of grass in the foreground and maybe some dots of white (flowers) for additional sparkle.

These poppy fields were painted in watercolor by adults. The process is similar to the above, except any white areas (such as clouds) are left unpainted (then other cloud colors can be added to them as desired). Size: 9"x12"

Of course, this technique can be used to paint other wildflower landscapes as well, such as this hillside of lupines.

To learn more about painting wildflower landscapes with children, see our previous weblog post, Monet's Poppy Fields.

More Abstract Art

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 18:18:00 +0000

Our exploration of abstract art has been so much fun, and we are not done yet! We also painted these layered abstract pieces, suitable for framing.

These large format tempera paintings are brimming with bold shapes, patterns, and colors!

We used heavy duty watercolor paper, 18" x 18" square before being taped around the edges. The final compositions were about 14-1/4 inches square (depending upon the width of the masking tape) within a nice white border.

For detailed instructions, please see our earlier post: Awesome Abstract Art.

In addition to our layered abstract artwork, we also created EXPLODING ART books! Also known as SQUASH books, these innocent little books are hiding an explosion of art excitement!

These little gems are so much fun to make too. Start by making a bold piece of abstract art on a piece of 12" by 18" drawing or white construction paper. We used watercolors, metallic markers, and Sharpies for ours.

After they're dry, cut them up into squares, then cut some in half again to make triangles. Assemble your book by making two cardboard covers and then gluing the artwork pieces to folded construction paper inside the book.

Here is a video showing how to make art explosion books, step-by-step.

Oops!

You may decide you love your abstract artwork so much you can't bear to cut it up. Don't despair! Simply find a color copier and have your art copied and printed (in two halves if necessary - the cost is minimal), then cut up the copies and proceed to make your squash book!

For more about Art Explosion Books,

take a look at our past weblog posts here and here.

Abstract Art!

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 20:32:00 +0000

We decided to start off the New Year with some ABSTRACT ART making.

We started our exploration of abstract art with these patterned cardboard collages. These are made by gluing corrugated cardboard strips and scraps to a square of cardboard, then painting the sections in various colors and patterns.

Cardboard pieces are glued down with ordinary white glue (no need for hot glue), and painting can begin prior to the glue drying completely.

You can use liquid tempera or acrylic paint; either type should sufficiently cover the corrugated cardboard. If a color seems too transparent, you can paint the substrate white first, then proceed with your choice of color.

The result is a colorful, unique, 3-dimensional work of art!

Next, we got a little (okay, a lot) more experimental with some playful layered abstract art. Working in layers on a square piece of white poster board, we used a variety of painting techniques, including brayer rolling, stamping, sponging, splattering, or whatever else we could think of, along with a little collage work.

We decided on a theme along the way and incorporated it into the
piece along with a few descriptive words and/or illustrative images.

Tip: Our artists found it's best to select a few analogous colors first, then add one complementary color to spice it up. It's more pleasing to the eye than attempting to use an entire rainbow of color!

We also made some circle & line abstract art in the style of Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky.

For these, we used masking tape, lids (to trace), cake temperas, and Sharpies on 12 x 18 drawing paper.

We decided that abstract art is not only fun to look at, but also fun to make!

Abstract Triangle Art

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 23:39:00 +0000

We decided to start the new year with some abstract art exploration. Our first explorations were these painted watercolor triangle collages.

Pretty spectacular, aren't they?

Lots of fun to make as well. Little did we know (for all those "I'll never use math" naysayers) that we would use plenty of math - specifically geometry and algebra - to complete these, without even knowing it.

For example, how do right triangles, equilateral triangles, acute and obtuse triangles fit together evenly, while leaving equal spacing between each piece? Tricky - and fun!

Also, knowing how large to make the substrate for the amount of painted/cut paper to be glued on it was another problem to figure out.

Of course, running out of space would mean not using all of the collage pieces. Not enough pieces would mean cutting down the substrate to fit. In art, either solution is okay!

We also made rules - such as cutting out triangles only for this piece. And none of them should touch - we tried to leave even spacing between each shape.

Smaller cut, puzzle-like elements. Artist age 8

Abstract paintings were created with liquid watercolor (mostly using wet-on-wet techniques) on student-grade 90 lb. watercolor paper. Collages were then glued to black or white square poster board.

Learn more about this abstract art project on our earlier post.

Christmas Car Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 21:16:00 +0000

We made Christmas cars ... and turned them into Christmas cards!

I just love how they turned out!

After completing the artwork, I took picture each one and formatted them to fit on a piece of folded colored card stock. Then I had them printed at our local print shop on premium white paper.

Of course, I could have printed them myself, but placing two art pics on one sheet of paper is so inexpensive to print compared to using a home printer, and the color is beautiful and dependable.

Cut the art prints to leave about 1/4 inch all the way around.

Our images were 5.25" x 7" for 5.5" by 7.25" cards (folded). Of course, your dimensions are up to you.

Simply cut them out and glue them on the face of the folded cards. We used glue sticks so they would stay flat and not wrinkle.

Now you can write in them as they are, Or, for darker cardstock, you can fold a slightly smaller sheet of white sheet of paper inside for your message. Simply add a dab of glue to the paper near the center fold to keep it in place.

For detailed instructions to create your own Christmas Car paintings, you can visit our previous weblog posts:

Christmas Cars

More Christmas Cars

We used purchased (5.75" x 8.75") peel & stick greeting card envelopes, which you can find at any stationary or big box store - ours came from Walmart.

Pet Paintings

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 21:21:00 +0000

Choncho, 11" x 14" (artist age 10)

We painted pet portraits!

These artists tried an acrylic painting on canvas for the very first time.

These are painted on 11" x 14" stretched canvases. We used simple drawings traced to the canvas from b/w photo enlargement printouts. We also used at least two color resource photos to refer to as we created our palettes and painted the images on canvas. It helped to have at least one photo on an electronic device so that it could be enlarged enough to see and paint furry details.

Athena, 11" x 14" (adult artist)

Kitty, 11" x 14" (adult artist)

Josie, 11" x 14" (adult artist)

Pug, by B - age 10 (colored pencil)

Just for the fun of it, our younger artist decided to also try her hand at depicting her doggy subject in colored pencil. The result is this super expressive drawing that looks like a caricature. Wow!

The Colors of Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 21:37:00 +0000

Early October near McCammon, Idaho

The beautiful colors of autumn make it my favorite time of the year. I love leaf-peeping, fall photography, and of course, making colorful autumn art! I try to get in a few hikes during the peak of fall colors in "my neck of the woods," such as this photo: a perfect reference pic for a future painting!

Our most recent open studio sessions have consisted of fall-themed art-making, such as this this richly hued autumn scene of a country road meandering through the woods.

The artist, age 10, worked with soft pastels to create this piece, called "A Fall Walk in the Woods." You can see another post with more examples of this project here and a video showing how to draw it here.

We call these cheery birch tree paintings "The Colors of the Wind." We know we can't see the wind on a blustery day, but we can see the leaves swirling around and we can imagine the colors of the wind. To make create these, we first painted the backgrounds, then we painted, cut out, and glued our tree trunks and branches right over the painting. Fun for any age! Find out more about painting your own Colors of the Wind right here.

Most recently, we created these sunlit paintings of a walking path through the woods in autumn, with plenty of falling leaves and a cute little park bench so you can rest your feet.

Notice how each painting of this basic scene differs from the others. The colors, the highlights and shadows, the pathways, the trees, the falling leaves, and the styles of the park benches are all based on the original ideas and creativity of the artist.

If you would like to paint or teach someone to paint this colorful autumn scene, you can learn more in our original weblog post, Park Bench.

Birch Trees at Sunset
watercolor greeting card, by Braylie, age 10

Candy Candy Candy

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 19:31:00 +0000

Dots, tempera paint on paper

It's all about the candy!

Actually, I loved Halloween because of the costumes. I loved that mother made ours and later I could make my own.

But later, in the end, it really was all about the candy!

As a tradition around here - after the big night - we make candy art! We save a few leftovers to use as our candy still life subjects. (Then of course, it gets eaten.)

Leftovers, mixed media on paper

We place our candy pieces on a tiny 'stage,' usually just 3 or 4 inches square. Then we copy the image lightly in pencil to a square piece of drawing paper, anywhere from 7" x 7" to 10" x 10" or even larger.

The challenge is enlarging the tiny subjects on the tiny square proportionally to the large square. It's easy to draw too small.

Sweets, mixed media on paper

We have found that it helps to draw two pencil lines on the the tiny stage dividing it into quarters before placing the candy on it. Do the same to the drawing paper and then draw what is seen in each quarter.

After the initial drawing is completed, simply fill in the colors with art media of your choice: temperas, colored pencil, pastel pencil, charcoal pencil, etc.

When finished, erase your pencil guide lines and stray drawing lines. Then smear a bit of charcoal and/or charcoal pencil in the background to give the table surface some color and create shadows beneath and around the candies.

Tip: if you are meticulous and cannot depend on your candy stage lasting forever, or if you may not finish your candy artwork in just one sitting, it may help to take a picture of your candy still life (from directly above, of course) for later. Have fun!!!

For more student samples and detailed instructions, see our previous post.

Halloween Workshops for Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 01:37:00 +0000

Our Halloween Workshops are always so much fun! This year we made Silly Halloween Blackheads, Moveable Mummies, Freaky Fuzzy Spiders, Batty Bats, and our very most favoritist of all: Halloween Inchies!

These Silly Halloween Blockheads are made from wood scraps and various craft supplies, such as Fun Foam shapes, googly eyes, pom poms, and pipe cleaners. First they are painted (we use acrylic paint), then the other items are glued on

over the dried paint.

Moveable Mummies are made from flexible garden wire, gauze (or strips of muslin), googly eyes, and are held together with a dab of hot glue after being wound up and wrapped.

Batty Bats are made from cardboard tubes (we covered them with black tissue paper), black construction paper, googly eyes, pipe cleaners (optional) and metallic markers.

Halloween Inchies are tiny works of art that are fun to make and can be displayed separately or in a group or in a grid pattern on a piece of poster board.

Ours are each 4" x 4."

These Freaky Fuzzy Spiders were a favorite for this guy. He used pipe cleaners, pom poms, googly eyes, and hot glue. He even made a wearable web for his smallest spider, and a Spider Inchie, too. (Note: every spider appearing in this post was made by this amazing freaky-fuzzy-spider maker!)

This young artist created a cute portrait of her plush ghostly companion during open studio time.

(Note - it would appear that there is a falling leave stuck in her hair! Actually, it's just an

autumn-themed wall decoration behind her, created to set the mood.)

Colorful Cactus Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 01:03:00 +0000

In keeping with our nature journal drawing project, we created these beautiful mixed media cactus gardens planted in Mexican or native American inspired decorative pots.

We had fun observing different types of small cacti to consider for our gardens, as well as various native American patterns for our pots as we planned our compositions.

You'll need:

a sheet of watercolor paper, reference photos of cacti, a drawing pencil, fine and ultra fine black Sharpies, a watercolor board, masking tape, watercolors, and a few watercolor brushes of various sizes.

We started by sketching in our compositions lightly with pencil. We didn't put in every detail at this point; all we needed was to know what goes where and establish which cacti are in back and which are in front. We also added a few lines in the pot patterns spikes in the cacti, just a few to show what they will look like.

Now the entire sketch is traced with your Sharpies, which will not run or blur when it gets wet. This is important for the next step. Be sure to add all of the details left out of the original sketch.

Now you should have something that looks like a coloring book page for grownups!

Tape your painting to a watercolor board (to keep it from wrinkling). You will fill in the background with two analogous colors (best to use liquid watercolors if your painting is larger than 9"x12"). We blended one color into the other from top to bottom, such as yellow to orange or blue to violet using a wet-on-wet technique.

Then, once the background has dried (we used a blow dryer) you'll begin mixing various shades and tones of green for your cacti. Paint them in, and then fill in the rest of your painting as desired. After the paint is dry, you can go over some of your ink lines again if they don't seem dark enough.

NOTES: Creating this little cactus garden helps young students plan a composition, gain confidence with ink (Sharpies), blend a background using two or more analogous colors, use Native American-inspired patterns in artwork, and plan a color harmonious scheme. It is also a great way to encourage using the watercolor palette wells for mixing watercolors instead of simply painting with the colors directly out of the pans. We mixed a variety of greens to paint the various types of cacti after observing from photos how different each shade or tone of green actually was. See more cactus garden ideas from our earlier posts here and here.

Thievin' Seagulls!

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 01:45:00 +0000

We decided to take a break from our Nature Journaling endeavors to hit the beach (so to speak) and create these "thievin" seagulls! (Okay we don't have an actual beach here in landlocked Idaho, but Blackfoot has a river-fed lake and it is frequented by seagulls.)

If you've ever tried to have a picnic at the beach, you know that the neighborhood seagulls will try to steal your lunch. Do not walk away, or your meal will walk, hop, or fly away.

Besides working on our cartooning skills and adding bit of humor to our artwork, this project invited experimentation with a number of different art media and techniques:

Soft pastels on construction paper

Wet on wet watercolor

Torn paper techniques

Collage using a variety of materials

Oil pastel techniques

Drawing skills

If you would like to make your own Thievin' Seagull art, take a look at our earlier Seagull posts for detailed directions: Sneaky Seagulls and Seagulls!

Seagulls can be very crafty, and they are not afraid of humans. If they want it, they take it, even from a convenience store (oops-sorry-forgot my wallet).

So, feel free to give your seagulls a few appropriate 'accessories.' We decided a pirate theme would be very appropriate - such as pirate hats, eye patches, and/or a peg leg!

Or... add some warning signs on the beach! True story - this actually happened in Maine. The culprit: Cecil the Seagull.

Magnified Critters

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 18:39:00 +0000

Wasp, mixed media on paper

After working so hard on our Nature Journals the last few weeks, we decided it would be fun to make some special artwork focusing (get it?) on a few of the backyard critters we discovered.

Results: These amazing mixed media Magnified Critters!

Below, I will show you how to make your own.

Cucumber Beetle, mixed media on paper

Supplies needed:

- 9" x 12" dark-colored construction paper

- scrap of black construction paper

- drawing pencil / eraser

- colored pencils and/or markers

- tempera paints or oil/soft pastels

- paint brushes / water

- scissors / glue stick

- round templates, such as lids: one slightly smaller than the other

- resource pictures of chosen insect

Choose a critter to illustrate in your artwork (insect? spider? butterfly?) and find a good resource photo of it to refer to as you draw.

Plastic lid templates, 4.5" & 5"

Lightly trace the smaller template on a piece of white drawing paper. This will be your 'art canvas.' (Tiny, huh?) Sketch the insect somewhere inside the circle, being sure to include as many details as possible. Fill in the body of the insect with bold colors using markers or colored pencils. You might want to outline the insect with an ultra-fine Sharpie before or after filling in the colors. You decide!

Where is your critter resting? Draw a leaf or flower beneath it. Add distinct details and bright colors to this background, just as it would be seen through a magnifying glass. Fill in the circle with colors and details. Don't worry about any stray lines or color outside the circle, which will be cut off later.

Original Rainbow Leaf Beetle artwork

Paint the background using your media of choice: tempera paint, oil pastels, soft pastels or (???) Paint loosely and quickly; don't worry too much about details or perfection - the focus of the artwork will be on the magnifying glass art.

Use the larger template to trace and cut out a black circle (or rather a big black dot) and use a scrap of that paper to make a handle for your magnifier. (Fold it in half lengthwise, then cut it out and unfold!)

Enhanced Rainbow Leaf Beetle artwork

Carefully cut out your magnifying glass artwork. Then, glue it to the center of the big black dot, and glue end of the handle to the back of the dot to complete your magnifying glass.

Once your background has dried, you can glue the completed magnifying glass to it. Make sure you move it around first and decide where the best position would be to place it.

The last step is to go back and add a few more details, shadows, and other enhancements. Beautiful!

Orange-Belted Bumblebee, mixed media

For more ideas like this, check out this post: Scientific Illustration.

Nature Journaling - Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 02:06:00 +0000

A Nature Journal is simply a nature-themed sketchbook filled with observational sketches of your outdoor environment.

You can use an ordinary sketchbook for your outdoor sketches, or you can create your own unique, personalized, customized Nature Journal.

Your journal can include lots of small descriptive sketches or detailed scientific illustrations - or both. You can use dry drawing media only (drawing pencils, charcoal pencils, colored pencils, Sharpies, markers, pastels), or you can also include watercolor pencil, ink, and watercolor sketches.

If you enjoy being outside and you love to draw, nature journaling is for you! Get started by taking a Nature Walkabout.

You will need:

A drawing board, drawing media, a camp chair, a few sheets of drawing or sketching paper, (or your sketchbook), masking tape, cellphone (camera), sun screen, and a brimmed hat.

If using drawing paper, tape two corners of each sheet to your drawing board to keep it in place.

Drawing tips:

Feel free to use more than one art medium for your drawings. Mixed media is great for depicting nature!

Move in close! Look for details.

Sketch your subject lightly with a drawing pencil first, or skip the pencil and be bold! Start with markers or ultra-fine Sharpies, and dive in to the drawing - trust yourself!

Observe your subject closely. Rule of thumb is to spend more time examining your subject than looking at your drawing.

Mistakes can be fixed. If the art medium is un-erasable, no worries! Remember nature is not perfect and you can adjust your drawing to look like the subject without looking exactly like the specimen in front of you.

For example, a pepper in your garden can take on innumerable shapes and variations in color as it ripens. And every wildflower is slightly different. Use your mistake to your advantage to individualize your subject: change the shape slightly, add deeper shadows, or create more texture. Or turn boo-boos into bees (or hover flies, like these).

If you run out of drawing time (or your subject skitters, hops, or flies away) consider taking a picture of it with your phone before drawing. That way you can finish your drawing in the studio.

You may be able to ID your subject using an online app or locate your subject in a field guide such as a National Audubon Society Field Guide.

Another option for future sketches is to collect specimens to draw in the studio. Collect objects that are laying on the ground such as pinecones, bits of bark, broken twigs, acorns, feathers, seedpods, leaves, and rocks. You can also use items like (realistic) artificial flowers and specimens from your seashell collection. These photos show just a few studio specimens that we collected to observe when the temperatures got too hot for us to work outside.

Choose a specimen and place it on a sheet of white paper directly in front of you. Study it carefully, then draw it in detail, adding color using your art media of choice. These two scientific illustrations were completed using colored markers and colored pencils:

Polyphemus moth specimen (top) with two artists' illustrations

This moth was found at the end of its life cycle in our walk-about space (my yard). Notice how ragged the wing edges are! We looked it up and found that the the Polyphemus moth lives an average of 6 to 7 days after emerging from its cocoon. It has no mouth or digestive system so it cannot eat: its only function is to reproduce. We also learned we were very lucky to find it because this moth is normally active only at night, and also that some people believe finding a Polyphemus moth is a sign of good luck!

Next: How to assemble a Nature Journal using your drawings.

Nature Journaling - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 01:51:00 +0000

Now that you have a few nature sketches and drawings, it's time to assemble your Nature Journal.

First, examine your pages of outdoor sketches and choose your favorites to refine and complete for your Journal.

To assemble your Nature Journal:

1) Try making labeled pages for various categories of subjects or specimens for a more organized format. Write or glue a category heading on each page - and make a title page as well.

Take a look at our Nature Journal templates to print out or to help you with your own design ideas. (This is a pdf file.)

You can now sketch or draw specimens directly on each page or you can (loosely) cut out your refined outdoor sketches and glue onto your labeled nature journal pages. Or BOTH!

As you work on your Journal and fill each page with sketches you can add more pages as needed.

2) Decide whether you want to add the names of your specimens. You can identify your insects, birds, wildflowers, etc. or you can choose to simply draw them on the labeled page of your choosing, and then move on!

3) Make a cover using two sheets of cardstock and create your own
unique cover art for your Nature Journal.

4) Punch three holes along the edge and attach everything together using brads or leather lacing or yarn. Your personalized nature journal will have loose pages that you can reorganize or add additional pages to whenever you choose. Tip: Brads make reorganizing or adding pages super easy.

Here are some Nature Journal page samples:

Have fun making your own Nature Journal!

Nature Journaling - Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:23:00 +0000

Now that you have started your Nature Journal, why not challenge yourself a bit? Challenges can involve creative problem-solving, trying new things, or going the extra mile to complete a goal.

Here are some Nature Journaling Challenge ideas:

Use an art medium that is unfamiliar or that you have not used much in the past. For example, this page was completed entirely with colored markers. Young children are familiar with markers, but older artists often do not use markers for serious drawings. This adult artist's challenge was to combine and layer colors to create blended hues and tones, shades and highlights, and bold textures using only Crayola markers.

Fill an entire page with your sketches and drawings. Although it may take a while, make it your goal to fill up each category page. Take a walk, use photo resources in books and field guides, and/or find online images of selected specimens. Then, once a page is full, start another one and fill it up too!

Remember, you can add pages to your Journal (or reorganize it) any time you wish.

Draw unfamiliar items. Don't stray away for objects and specimens that you have never drawn before. No matter what the subject of your drawing, remember that it can be depicted with lines, shapes, colors, and textures. Use your observational skills to interpret the subject in your own way using these basic art elements. These rocks were collected and drawn using markers and colored pencils.

Draw 'hard' subjects. Don't avoid subjects that seem 'too hard' or too complex to draw. Draw them anyway. Tip: 'warm up' with less complex object studies first. Leaves might be easier to draw than mammals, for example, so draw leaves (on your 'Leaves' page) first. Focus on shapes, details, and accurate colors. This will help you gain the confidence you need to draw more complex subjects. These mammals were sketched in pencil first, then finished in colored pencil.

Can you think of any other drawing challenges? Remember, any goals you set are unique to you, so focus on skills that you personally would like to achieve. Most importantly, have fun making art!

Donuts for Dad

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 21:43:00 +0000

For Father's Day, we made Donuts for Dad!

I took a poll beforehand, and it turns out that all the dads in question were big donut fans (who knew?) So... the kids couldn't wait to get going on their donut-making for Dad!

Okay, that goes for us adults too. For ourselves.

For this version (we've made many donuts in the past), we used cake temperas on white sulfite paper cut to 12" x 12" (any heavy drawing paper will do). Also needed: liquid white tempera to mix tints - and, of course, donut samples!

We also used pencils for sketching, round templates for the basic shape (plastic lids), and black Sharpies for outlining.

First we divided the paper into 6" x 6" quarters, which is a great way to help younger kids use a ruler. Then we traced our round templates (so the donuts wouldn't end up too small) - one per square.

Next, they needed to decide what types of donuts to make. They observed their donut samples and sketched icing on their donuts.

To paint the donuts, they mixed various browns and made tints for the icing by adding white to any chosen color. This is very much a color mixing art activity.

A colorful background was added behind each donut, and each was outlined with Sharpies after the paint was dry. Sprinkles were added with colored Sharpies and colored pencils as desired.

These donuts were made to appear as they would in a pastry box, using the same art media plus paper punchouts and puffy paint. These are a lot of fun for older kids and teens. See more of these and how to make them on our Delectable Donuts post.

Easter Basket Collage Art

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Sat, 12 Apr 2025 00:53:00 +0000

Here is a paper collage project suitable for any kid who looks forward to Easter, loves making things, and especially enjoys being super-creative!

This process art project utilizes cut paper and glue in new and exciting ways. First it's a collage, but really it's a whole lot more because it features some three dimensional elements.

(Plus, a few chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps to make this basket really special!)

Once they catch on, young artists will figure out on their own how to add texture and other 3-D elements to their collages.

Various scrap booking papers, stickers, and gold wrapping paper (for the ultra-desirable golden egg) can add to the fun!

We employed some interesting paper-working tools such as our handy grass-maker (okay, a paper shredder), a butterfly punch, and a paper crimper. If you have these, great, but kids can always figure out how to create their own special effects once they get going with their own ideas.

We also used a variety of pre-cut cardboard egg templates, which were traced on various papers and cut out to make awesome decorated eggs!

One particularly challenging process is that of weaving paper. In the past I have had 12-year-olds who had never woven paper before! So below, I am including some basic instructions for teaching kids how to get started with weaving, until eventually the light will come on and bingo!

"Oh, I get it!"

Basic Paper Weaving Instructions:

We start with 8 strips of construction paper, any color. Choose 4 to weave through the other 4, one at a time. It's okay if they are messy. Use these to practice until artists figure out the over-under-over-under process.

Next the paper strips are squished together until they touch and form what looks like little squares. Wow! This looks cool! Next, weave more paper strips along the edges to make a larger shape or to change the square shape to a more rectangular shape.

When done weaving, artists carefully cut around the shape like the one below. To keep it from unraveling, put a spot of glue beneath each loose flap along the edges. We use glue sticks because they dry fast! If you want to, you can carefully flip the weaving over and do the same thing on the back.

A bit of texture was added to the top and bottom of this basket using crimped paper strips.

For more Easter Basket collage ideas, take a look at our previous post:

Awesome Easter Baskets

Backyard Birds in Oil Pastel

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 01:39:00 +0000

American Goldfinch, by Jackie, oil pastel on black paper

In February we created these sweet bird paintings in oil pastel on black paper.

Wait, did I say "paintings?"

Yes! Pastel artwork is generally considered a painting, not a drawing. Did you know that?

Dark-eyed Junco (or Snowbird), oil pastel on black paper

These portraits of backyard birds are first lightly sketched on 9" x 12" black sulfite paper using either black or white soft pastel (which can be brushed off easily with a soft cloth as the sketch is being adjusted).

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, oil pastel on black paper

Northern Cardinal, oil pastel on black paper

Black-capped Chickadee, oil pastel on black paper

Since our intent was to learn how to work with oil pastels, we did not want to spend all of our time attempting to draw anatomically correct birds. So a shortcut was available.

First, artists chose a photo of a bird from my large file of resource photos (from calendars). They could use the photo to observe and draw their bird freehand, or, with tracing paper, they could trace the basic outline, eye placement, and main markings of the bird.

Then a piece of carbon paper was sandwiched between the tracing paper and the black paper and the bird was retraced onto it.

A natural element, such as a branch, was also sketched in the scene for the bird to perch on. The background was left black.

Now artists selected a pallet of oil pastel sticks to be used for the painting. They held up each possible color to compare to the resource photo. Once chosen, this pallet was kept until the painting was finished.

Artists learned that oil pastels can be blended, mixed to make new colors, and used lightly or heavily to create shadows, highlights, and textures.

If you have a set of oil pastels that you would like to get to know better, give this little bird portrait a try. You will likely be pleasantly surprised! These samples were painted by adults, but I have also had great success with teens and children (ages 8 and up).

Winter Scene in Watercolor

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 22:38:00 +0000

A small group of adult artists came by to paint this lovely little winter scene, a perfect subject for this very cold January!

This is an easy watercolor painting that works well in a small format. Our artists chose either 9"x12" or 7"x10" watercolor paper. (90# works for the smaller size, 140# is better for the larger format.)

Want to paint your own? You can do it! First, tape the paper down to a watercolor board to keep it from curling and to ensure a nice white border when you are all done.

Next, sketch a basic scene, starting with an uneven horizon line. Try to keep it below the center if the paper. Sketch in the basic shapes of the birch (or aspen) trees in the foreground. Feel free to use resource photos of trees to help you. Just sketch the trunks and large branches - no need to include the smaller branches and twigs.

Now, with an old brush, fill in the tree trunks and branches with masking fluid (or frisket) and allow to dry.

To complete the painting, take a look at The Virtual Artist for detailed instructions.

We found this painting to be easy and fun, and we loved the results! Everyone's painting was different, showcasing each artist's interpretation of this crisp, wintery scene!

To see more about this painting, see our previous post Winter Landscape.

Christmas ArtWorkShop

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 03:50:00 +0000

What is an ArtWorkShop?

First of all, this is not a grammatical error. It is a combination of an "Artwork Workshop" and, in this case, a "Christmas Art Workshop." So, in essence, it is an ArtWorkShop; all one word.

In any case, this artworkshop was an open studio experience that allowed artists to create their choice of Christmas-themed artwork. They could use any of the displayed studio artworks for inspiration, or create something totally unique.

(Sometimes artists already have something in mind and I certainly encourage this!)

As the artists' assistant, my job is to provide materials, supplies, technical support, and positive feedback. Nothing more. The artist is responsible for his/her own ideas and creativity.

Note: I try to incorporate the TAB process as much as possible into an open studio experience. (Teaching for Artistic Behavior.)

This talented artist wanted to work on her drawing skills. The nutcrackers on display in the studio caught her eye, so she decided to create one of her own.

This artist utilized construction paper to create these 3-dimensional figures, similar to popup cards. This is what I believe construction paper is designed for: imagination-based creation: cutting, gluing, folding, and embellishing with markers, stickers, and what-have-you.

Viola!

Here's another paper-construction masterpiece, this time created by a four-year-old, with the help of her adult assistant (otherwise known as Grandma).

While having fun making art, she made a plan and then dabbled in paper cutting, punching, folding, rolling (around a pencil), arranging, and gluing; as well as drawing, embellishing, and finishing a unique project.

All of these art-making skills and experiences will benefit her when she enters school.

Obviously I don't treat every art class as an open-studio. Novice artists want to learn specific skills or how to use unfamiliar media and as an instructor, I can provide that instruction. However, the best learning experiences often come from self-guided creativity, unfettered imagination, and free experimentation with materials and processes.

Autumn-Themed Still Life Art

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 20:34:00 +0000

Autumn Still Life
By Jackie, oil pastel on paper

I just love the amazing colors of fall, so as an artist I'm always looking for new ways depict them in our artwork.

In the past we have utilized watercolor, colored pencil, pastel, and tempera paint for our fall-themed still life art.

This time, we created these stunning autumn-themed still life artworks with oil pastels on black sulfite paper. Here's how we did it:

Our selected still life elements

The still life. First, we collected a variety of fall-themed objects with which to build our still life model. We couldn't use everything, so we selected the most interesting objects, making sure to choose a variety of sizes, colors, and textures.

The final still life arrangement

Next, the still life elements were arranged on a seamless 'stage' (such as a poster board) to create the still life model, and a good light source was set up for distinct shadows and highlights.

The sketch. Once everything was in place, the artists chose a pleasing vantage point from which to observe the model, and sketch in the basic shapes on a piece of 9" x 12" black sulfite paper. We use Tru-Ray, which is a high grade construction paper that is very black in color and resistant to fading. Use soft pastels (white or black) instead of pencil for sketching on sulfite paper because it can be easily wiped away with a soft dry rag - no eraser needed.

The palette. Our next step was to observe the model, carefully taking note of each color. A green acorn squash might have three or four different greens in it (ours did), so create your palette by pulling each possible green color from your oil pastel set, holding it up and comparing it to what you see in the object. If the color is the same, or very similar, set it aside. You are creating a specific palette for this pastel painting. Continue choosing pastel sticks until you have compiled your still life palette and keep your palette colors separated from your remaining set until the artwork is completed.

The painting process. Now you can proceed to fill in your still life elements with color, always observing shapes, textures, colors, shadows, and highlights. Some of your colors will need to be layered, and some of your marks will be laid heavily, others with a very light touch. It can also help to have a toothpick available to scrape in lines and texture, such as in these leaves.

The shadows. The final step is laying in black soft pastel beneath the still life to create shadows. Simply fill in the areas and softly blend in and away from the still life using your finger. Then, stand back, observe carefully, and make any needed adjustments to your artwork.

Notes: You may have noticed that, although using the same model, the above two pieces are painted from two very different vantage points. Also, one artist chose not to include the pine cone, and some of the leaves are rearranged in the artworks. These pieces were painted by adults, but can be painted by younger artists as well.

For more autumn-themed pastel (and mixed media) paintings by younger students, take a look at our previous weblog posts, here and here.

Autumn Woods in Watercolor

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 22:22:00 +0000

Autumn-themed watercolor paintings are so colorful and fun to create!

For especially spectacular results, we like to include birch or aspen trees and maybe a few late-summer wildflowers using simple masking techniques.

It's so much fun (especially for beginners) to remove the masking media, finish the painting, stand back, and take a good look.

Whoa! Did I just paint that???

We start, as always, by taping the watercolor paper to a smooth board. You can use ordinary masking tape or blue painter's tape. This leaves a nice white border around your painting and keeps the paper in place and from curling up when wet.

Next, we decide which direction to turn the paper - landscape or portrait - then we begin "painting" with tape. We rip and tear several strips of masking tape lengthwise and tape it to our watercolor paper to resemble the shapes of trees. larger strips for tree trunks and smaller ones are added as branches.

The larger trees will extend over the bottom and top borders of the paper. Smaller, thinner ones (in the distance) are placed near the center of the paper.

We use liquid masking fluid (or frisket) to dab in spots for flowers and leaves in the upper branches of the trees. We splatter on more over the lower 2/3rds or so with a toothbrush.

Now you can paint away, filling in the background behind and around the trees, painting right over the masking media as though it is not even there. We start at the bottom and work our way down. We try to mix our own colors and we don't worry if colors blend or bleed into others. That's what makes watercolors so much fun!

Once the painting is covered from top to bottom, allow it to dry, or use a blow dryer. Make sure the painting is thoroughly dry!

Next, remove the masking fluid by rubbing it off gently with your fingers, leaving white paper spots showing through the paint. Remove the masking tape trees, slowly and carefully, pulling the tape flat to one side - not straight up - to avoid tearing the paper.

Complete your white "ghost" trees by adding a shadow along one side with thinned black paint. Be sure to add shadows to all tree trunks and larger branches. Next, add the characteristic black birch tree markings by scraping or painting small amounts of black and brown watercolor paint here and there on the trucks and branches.

You can also add additional thinner branches and twigs to the trees, as well as a few blades of grass at the bottom using a detail brush.

To finish, add color to your wildflowers and some fall hues to your leaves (usually bright yellow, yellow-orange, or yellow-green for birch trees and aspens), leaving the splattered areas white.

Allow the painting to dry thoroughly and remove the border tape by always keeping it flat and pulling away from the painting.

Now it's time for your "Whoa!" moment!

Board Game Olympics!

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 00:47:00 +0000

Okay, at first this may not seem like an "art" related post.

But it is about creativity and it can include ART, if you so choose - we did!

Backstory:

It was HOT outside. The Summer Olympics were going on in Paris. Our teenage grandson was visiting, but we were pretty much stuck inside. We could watch the Olympics on TV, of course. But we needed more! What could we do to celebrate the Olympics??? How could we participate in the spirit of the Games? Wait... GAMES???

I quickly came up with a plan - why not have our own Olympics within the confines of our nice air-conditioned house? The grandson loves board games. In fact, he is always willing to put away his electronic device to play a board game. So, (drumroll, please)...

Introducing, the

Summer Board Game Olympics!

Here's how we did it:

We found a white board and markers for our medal count board.

We dug out a bunch of games to choose from for our Olympics competition schedule.

We assembled two card tables in front of the big screen TV, because of course the Olympics would be on in the background and we would want to pause to watch our favorite events!

We had plenty of ice water and delicious snacks available at all times - so we could keep our strength up throughout a strenuous day of going-for-the-gold!

We gave medals to the first, second, and third place winners of each game - as shown on the medal count board. As an option, you can determine the all-around Medal winners of your Olympics by adding up each person's medal counts: Gold Medals get three points, Silver Medals two points, and Bronze Medals one point. In our Olympics: P got the all-around Gold for 17 points, R got the Silver for 11 points, and S got the Bronze for 8 points.

More tips:

Choose a good variety of games for your Olympics. We chose two very different word games (Boggle
and Take Two), a dice game (Scratch), a chance/math game (Shut the Box), a silly game (Tiddlywinks), and a drawing game (Pictionary). Choose games from your own collection that everyone enjoys! Shown in the above picture are some of the other games we considered but that didn't make the cut.

Remember to choose games that won't take all day. Quick and fun really worked for us. If you end up not having time for a game, just cross it out (we didn't play Yahtzee).

Don't choose two-player games (Othello, checkers, etc.) unless you are willing to go more than one round, tournament style.

More art and drawing games

Set up the tables for the number of your players. Have an extra table available in case you need more room for some games, less for others. Example: we needed lots of space for our Take Two game (an all time favorite): two card tables for three people. However, we only needed one table for Boggle so everyone could easily see the letters.

Make sure you have all of your equipment for your chosen games. I found individual white boards for our Pictionary game and needed a small carpet scrap to cushion the table for Tiddlywinks.

In keeping with the ART theme of this weblog, you can certainly include as many art games as you wish. In fact, you could even hold an Art Game Olympics!

Of course, you can hold your own Board Game Olympics anytime you like. No need to wait four more years!

Carpets of Wildflowers

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 21:52:00 +0000

To celebrate spring, we painted these cozy, atmospheric landscapes featuring a gurgling stream surrounded by colorful hillsides carpeted in wildflowers.

These impressionistic gems were created by artists in our Art Class for Grownups, most of whom having little to no past canvas painting experience.

What is Impressionism? Claude Monet, often considered the first impressionist, described the creation process in this way:

"When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field... Merely think, here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives your own naïve impression of the scene before you."

For beginning painters, impressionism can be satisfying and fun because the burden of attempting to paint objects realistically is removed. Instead, we paint our personal impression of what is seen.

We are simply painting shapes and color and light.

An impressionistic painting can be almost dreamlike or based on a memory of a scene: what do I remember about this special place?

Perhaps the trees along the horizon, the colors of the flowers, the sky reflected in the water. Simplifying the scene becomes part of the process.

Working on an 11 x 14 black canvas (one layer of black gesso), we started by drawing the basic hill shapes using soft pastel.

We then painted the sky and the background along the horizon, using small filbert brushes and choppy, bold brush strokes.

We continued downward, starting with the distant flowers and moving forward while depicting more and more detail in the midground and in the foreground.

We then created the flowing water by randomly painting in our sky colors (again starting at the top and working downward). While still wet, we stroked the paint lightly downward, then across with a dry clean brush for reflections in the water. Then we added some rocks, a few waterlines along the edges, and some white water and splashes.

Painting these little landscapes helped artists learn to:

Create a scene using one-point perspective.

Depict objects in the distance, midground, and foreground.

Create the impression of a reflective surface and moving water.

Utilize a black canvas and bold brush strokes to make colors stand out.

Select colors that work together effectively.

Utilize resource photography (such as these calendar pictures) to observe shape and form, light and shadows, and color relationships to compose a piece of personal artwork.

For more about Impressionism and painting flowers in this style, please see our previous weblog post: Tuscan Colors Like the Impressionists

Open Studio Artwork

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Weston) — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 21:18:00 +0000

Art classes have been hit-or-miss throughout this winter (travel, illness, life). Subsequently, it was difficult to expect artists to work on the same project each week. So we decided to go with an open-studio format for a while and it worked out quite well.

Find out more about how to create this
wintery painted collage here and here.

Shown here are a few of our winter-themed art pieces that were created during this time by adult art students in our Thursday Art Class for Grownups.

This snowy alpine painted collages were painted with tempera on black sulfite paper and collage elements were added.

The completed artwork was then mounted to a large mat board and embellished with evergreen twigs.

We learned about contemporary illustrator Jen Aranyi and created a few pieces of mixed media art work in her style. (Click here for a complete Jen Aranyi-themed lesson.)

These were done in our watercolor sketchbooks or on watercolor paper using watercolors with ink.

Jen's favorite subjects are these jagged mountain scenes, so that's how we got started.

Then, after getting the hang of it, one student decided to make a greeting card using a completely different subject - in the same style:

We also decided to experiment in watercolor depicting various amounts of snow on evergreen trees. We attempted in the samples below to start with light snow on one tree and work our way to heavy snow on the last tree. Try it yourself - watercolorist Susie Short will show you how.