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| I love this book. So inspiring! |
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Author: Mary Ann Kohl
MaryAnn F. Kohl has written some of my favorite art activity books. She has published over 20 titles, from books focusing on American artists to a more global perspective. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to read all of her works, but the few that I have are wonderful. Each project is explained well with a short lesson about an artist or art history to go along with it. MaryAnn is a former school teacher with years of experience. She and I have the same view about teaching kids art: "Art is a process, not a product." I highly recommend her books if you're looking for some inspiration in your art lessons.
And not only does MaryAnn write books, she also founded her own publishing company, Bright Ring. There are free online resources on Bright Ring's site: excerpts from some of the books, a list of project ideas, links to other websites and blogs, and supplements to Discovering Great Artists. They have a Facebook page as well with links to crafts and funny status updates, for those of you who are in to social media. And MaryAnn also has her own blog. There are a ton of projects posted on there with lots of pictures. She also links to other art blogs for more creative idea resources. This woman has a pretty prodigious output, I must say.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Book: Art Attack
Another book has been added to my must-own list: Art Attack: A Brief Cultural History of the Avant-Garde by Marc Aronson. The title sounds way more pretentious and overtly academic than the book actually is. "Avant-garde" simply means "advance guard;" in relation to the arts it refers to work that's innovative or cutting-edge, that pushes the envelope of what's acceptable. Art Attack gives an overview of the last 200 years or so of art and world history. I powered through the entire book in one day, I enjoyed it so much. The whole thing comes in at just under 175 pages, yet it's full of great information. What could be an overwhelming and confusing topic, the author makes accessible and interesting. Art Attack is aimed at curious teens, but it's so well written, I could see it being used in a college classroom.
Each chapter begins with suggestions for music to listen to or a movie to watch to give the reader a better feel for the time period discussed. I pulled up Youtube and easily found all the suggested composers' works. Listening to the different music styles really helped each section come alive. Most chapters took me under 10 minutes to read, which fit nicely with the length of the accompanying musical selections.
Art movements aren't discussed as abstract concepts but through stories of individual artists. I really appreciated how the author shows what happens in the arts isn't separate from world events, but affects and is affected by what happens in the wider world. So often art books can present artists as working in a vacuum when really they are so influenced by and are responding to what's happening in the culture around them.
Art Attack leaves the reader with some great questions to ponder: When what is avant-garde becomes acceptable, where can you go from there? When it's normal for everyone to push the envelope, how do individuals stand out? This book was published in 1998, but the issues it discusses are still relevant today, especially with the continuing growth of the Internet. One quote that really stuck with me: "The avant-garde is, and is meant to be, disturbing. Is that because it forces us to see the shocking world in which we already live?"
Each chapter begins with suggestions for music to listen to or a movie to watch to give the reader a better feel for the time period discussed. I pulled up Youtube and easily found all the suggested composers' works. Listening to the different music styles really helped each section come alive. Most chapters took me under 10 minutes to read, which fit nicely with the length of the accompanying musical selections.
Art movements aren't discussed as abstract concepts but through stories of individual artists. I really appreciated how the author shows what happens in the arts isn't separate from world events, but affects and is affected by what happens in the wider world. So often art books can present artists as working in a vacuum when really they are so influenced by and are responding to what's happening in the culture around them.
Art Attack leaves the reader with some great questions to ponder: When what is avant-garde becomes acceptable, where can you go from there? When it's normal for everyone to push the envelope, how do individuals stand out? This book was published in 1998, but the issues it discusses are still relevant today, especially with the continuing growth of the Internet. One quote that really stuck with me: "The avant-garde is, and is meant to be, disturbing. Is that because it forces us to see the shocking world in which we already live?"
Friday, February 25, 2011
Article: More Drawing Advice Than Anyone Wanted
The artist of a webcomic I follow recently wrote up a great essay about drawing and learning to be yourself as an artist.
"Anyone who has any aptitude at drawing will be asked at some point “how do I learn how to do that?”, and it seems to me that when people care to go into a more elaborate response than “Practice all the time” they are usually advising people to read up on a lot of Hogarth and Loomis, and learn all of the fundamentals before they start trying to get creative. I think one of the best pieces of drawing advice for beginners I ever saw was once upon a time on DeviantArt when Modus Operandi’s artist Tish Doolin told someone that if you were just picking up a pencil and trying this drawing thing out for the first time, it’s going to benefit you more to draw things that you have fun with than struggling with dry fundamentals right out of the gate."
You can read the rest of her post here. It's pretty long, but it's good reading. Expressing yourself artistically takes investing some time and effort into the endeavor. She uses the analogy of learning a new language--you don't expect to be fluent after paging through a few pages of a Spanish textbook, likewise you're not going to be Monet after painting once or twice.
She references and links to several helpful resources, one of which is this essay/tutorial.
I've come across similar guides in the past, but I found this particular one to be very well done and quite informative. It's surprisingly academic (but not in a over-your-head incomprehensible way) in that it's not simply about drawing. To draw well, you have to understand some basic ideas. To draw really well and to own your artistic style, you also have to know some art theory, which is not as scary as it sounds. I've referred to the landmark graphic novel Understanding Comics by Scott Mccloud in the past. This essay paraphrases a lot of his ideas into simpler, shorter form. I'd suggest reading the book for a fuller understanding of symbols and the styles of representation in art.
"Anyone who has any aptitude at drawing will be asked at some point “how do I learn how to do that?”, and it seems to me that when people care to go into a more elaborate response than “Practice all the time” they are usually advising people to read up on a lot of Hogarth and Loomis, and learn all of the fundamentals before they start trying to get creative. I think one of the best pieces of drawing advice for beginners I ever saw was once upon a time on DeviantArt when Modus Operandi’s artist Tish Doolin told someone that if you were just picking up a pencil and trying this drawing thing out for the first time, it’s going to benefit you more to draw things that you have fun with than struggling with dry fundamentals right out of the gate."
You can read the rest of her post here. It's pretty long, but it's good reading. Expressing yourself artistically takes investing some time and effort into the endeavor. She uses the analogy of learning a new language--you don't expect to be fluent after paging through a few pages of a Spanish textbook, likewise you're not going to be Monet after painting once or twice.
She references and links to several helpful resources, one of which is this essay/tutorial.
I've come across similar guides in the past, but I found this particular one to be very well done and quite informative. It's surprisingly academic (but not in a over-your-head incomprehensible way) in that it's not simply about drawing. To draw well, you have to understand some basic ideas. To draw really well and to own your artistic style, you also have to know some art theory, which is not as scary as it sounds. I've referred to the landmark graphic novel Understanding Comics by Scott Mccloud in the past. This essay paraphrases a lot of his ideas into simpler, shorter form. I'd suggest reading the book for a fuller understanding of symbols and the styles of representation in art.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Artist: Kendall Bohn
I met Kendall Bohn the other day at the California Arts Building where he has his studio. My attention was grabbed by his paintings displayed in the hallway, which reminded me a lot of Henri Rousseau's. Kendall's paintings have that same dreamlike quality with vivid colors and undulating shapes. But he doesn't only paint, sculptures and ceramics are also part of his repertoire. And he's a graphic designer on top of that. That's what you call a jack of all trades!
What I really want to share with you is Kendall's series of coloring books, Kaleidoscopia. So many coloring books these days are overtly simplified and dumbed down, as if publishers think kids can't focus enough to color in even the most basic shapes. If your child loves to color and gets bored with the typical fare available, the Kaleidoscopia series is for them. There is no way you can finish these pictures in just a few minutes. The Abstract books caught my eye the most, but there's also dinosaur and fantasy titles available. There's a free coloring page from each Kaleidoscopia title available for download.
You can buy the books online at the Kaleidoscopia site, and they're available at a number of retailers, like Creative Kidstuff, as well.
You can also visit Kendall's studio in the California Arts Building during the open studios event every second Saturday of the month. He showed me some of the original drawings he did for the coloring books, which was pretty cool. I also got to see the work for the next Abstract coloring book coming out this summer, which is going to have twice as many pages as previous titles.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm inspired to go doodle in my sketchbook.
What I really want to share with you is Kendall's series of coloring books, Kaleidoscopia. So many coloring books these days are overtly simplified and dumbed down, as if publishers think kids can't focus enough to color in even the most basic shapes. If your child loves to color and gets bored with the typical fare available, the Kaleidoscopia series is for them. There is no way you can finish these pictures in just a few minutes. The Abstract books caught my eye the most, but there's also dinosaur and fantasy titles available. There's a free coloring page from each Kaleidoscopia title available for download.
You can buy the books online at the Kaleidoscopia site, and they're available at a number of retailers, like Creative Kidstuff, as well.
You can also visit Kendall's studio in the California Arts Building during the open studios event every second Saturday of the month. He showed me some of the original drawings he did for the coloring books, which was pretty cool. I also got to see the work for the next Abstract coloring book coming out this summer, which is going to have twice as many pages as previous titles.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm inspired to go doodle in my sketchbook.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
In defense of "wasting" good art supplies
When it comes to the quality of art supplies, you get what you pay for. I've learned this the hard way over the years. I remember as a little kid the frustration of trying to use cheaply made colored pencils--I spent more time sharpening them than coloring because the tips kept breaking off. Recently, I bought a container of off brand colored markers because they were cheap--they dried out within a couple weeks. Crayons that are more wax than color, pens that dry up or bleed out, paint that dries inside the bottle, I could go on. Junky art materials are the bane of my existence. It's better to pay a bit more and get something you can use for longer.
Now I'm not advocating buying Windsor and Newton products for your five year old. Obviously, the skill and interest level of your kid plays a part in what kind of art supplies you'll be buying. The child who just scribbles something out to get the art project done probably won't care as much as the kid who labors for hours on one picture. What I'm saying is Crayola is way better than some dollar store knock off. I'm a big fan of Crayola--I still use their products today when I'm creating. I throw some higher end materials in the mix when it's necessary (nothing beats a good quality pastel), but Crayola or Sharpie products do the job just fine for the majority of what I make. I use acrylic paint in bottles that I buy from Michael's for my paintings that hang in galleries. Good art supplies don't need to break the bank. Just don't get cheap off brand junk because you're worried about your child "wasting" it. Kids can get turned off to making art if the materials they're using don't do what they want. It's hard to draw if your pencil's tip keeps breaking off or your crayon falls apart. A little investment is required for making a work of art you want to keep.
Now here's another thing I've run into: the concept of "wasting" art supplies. What I mean by this is, "Only use the nice drawing paper for a really good picture." Or, "I shouldn't experiment with these paints--they cost this much. I'll wait until I have a better idea." I'm guilty of this myself. You'll never make anything if you're worried about how much you paid for this or that. It can really stop a kid's creativity in its tracks if they're only allowed to use the nice art stuff for "good" pictures. I remember in high school, I wouldn't paint something unless I was positive I could make it perfect. There were a lot of pictures I never made because I was too worried about "wasting" the art materials in case I messed up and had to start over.
During college I realized that the only way to improve my art skills was to "waste" what I had: making piles of drawings for Drawing 101, most of them not very good, to get a few great pictures I was proud of. Going through charcoal pencils and erasers like candy on my way to learning the fundamentals of perspective and anatomy. Spending time and effort on art projects I ended up throwing away or painting over. But every drawing, sculpture or painting I made was a stepping stone to the next level of ideas and skills. Those bad drawings helped me to get to where I could draw a person in five minutes pretty well. Or when I first started out making my doily paintings, I couldn't draw them freehand like I can now. I had to trace them over and over again until I had mastered that skill. Today I can create those patterns in multiple mediums pretty much with my eyes closed. And the art I create in the future will be based on the ideas I play around with now.
That's a big thing that's not indulged very often anymore: the idea of play. There's so much focus on accomplishment and doing something that the thought of simply dinking around with paint or crayons is looked down upon. We must impart the different kinds of perspective, or understand the history of the arch, or learn the various kinds of paint, or whatever for the art lesson to have importance. Yes. those all have merit, and art history is important...but sometimes a little bit of freedom and exploration is good too. I was allowed to make messes (as long as I cleaned up after myself). Having the opportunity to create simply because I wanted to. Coming up with an idea on my own, figuring it out and then making it. That was just as important to fostering my love for the arts as going to art museums or taking classes. I can lose sight of that myself sometimes: There are days when I get too focused and serious with my art making, and then I realize I just need to splatter some paint around or just start gluing things to a canvas and see what happens. I'll pull out my crayons and scribble in my sketchbook. I'll make a collage from clippings from magazines. Just something to remind myself that art is about exploring and trying new things.
A really good book on this topic that I've been working my way through recently is The Creative License by Danny Gregory. It's subtitled "giving yourself permission to be the artist you truly are." That's what it's all about: giving ourselves and our kids the chance to use and explore our creativity. I highly suggest this book. Seriously, go out and buy it. It's one of the best art books I've ever read (and I've read a lot of them). It's a pleasure to read, chockfull of pictures on every page, and a warm, conversational tone to the book. It's like sneaking a peek at the author's journal. You can read through it quickly or you can go page by page, following the suggested activities. It'd be a great addition to your art curriculum. The Creative License is aimed at adults, but you could definitely adapt it for use with your child. Buy sketchbooks for you and your kids, and go through it together. The book is broken into two page sections for the most part, so each day you can read that pretty quickly and have a short activity to do. There's things to do like drawing your sandwich or a bagel, listing the contents of your purse, tracing the outline of your shoe. Simple stuff that gets the creative juices flowing. I'm not one to really endorse something heavily, but this book is hands down fantastic. It's just fun to read.
So, in summary my point is: have fun. Don't get hung up on making the next great masterpiece. Give your kids the room to play and explore with nice art supplies that don't break your budget. Picasso and Da Vinci made a few messes and mistakes along the way too.
Now I'm not advocating buying Windsor and Newton products for your five year old. Obviously, the skill and interest level of your kid plays a part in what kind of art supplies you'll be buying. The child who just scribbles something out to get the art project done probably won't care as much as the kid who labors for hours on one picture. What I'm saying is Crayola is way better than some dollar store knock off. I'm a big fan of Crayola--I still use their products today when I'm creating. I throw some higher end materials in the mix when it's necessary (nothing beats a good quality pastel), but Crayola or Sharpie products do the job just fine for the majority of what I make. I use acrylic paint in bottles that I buy from Michael's for my paintings that hang in galleries. Good art supplies don't need to break the bank. Just don't get cheap off brand junk because you're worried about your child "wasting" it. Kids can get turned off to making art if the materials they're using don't do what they want. It's hard to draw if your pencil's tip keeps breaking off or your crayon falls apart. A little investment is required for making a work of art you want to keep.
Now here's another thing I've run into: the concept of "wasting" art supplies. What I mean by this is, "Only use the nice drawing paper for a really good picture." Or, "I shouldn't experiment with these paints--they cost this much. I'll wait until I have a better idea." I'm guilty of this myself. You'll never make anything if you're worried about how much you paid for this or that. It can really stop a kid's creativity in its tracks if they're only allowed to use the nice art stuff for "good" pictures. I remember in high school, I wouldn't paint something unless I was positive I could make it perfect. There were a lot of pictures I never made because I was too worried about "wasting" the art materials in case I messed up and had to start over.
During college I realized that the only way to improve my art skills was to "waste" what I had: making piles of drawings for Drawing 101, most of them not very good, to get a few great pictures I was proud of. Going through charcoal pencils and erasers like candy on my way to learning the fundamentals of perspective and anatomy. Spending time and effort on art projects I ended up throwing away or painting over. But every drawing, sculpture or painting I made was a stepping stone to the next level of ideas and skills. Those bad drawings helped me to get to where I could draw a person in five minutes pretty well. Or when I first started out making my doily paintings, I couldn't draw them freehand like I can now. I had to trace them over and over again until I had mastered that skill. Today I can create those patterns in multiple mediums pretty much with my eyes closed. And the art I create in the future will be based on the ideas I play around with now.
That's a big thing that's not indulged very often anymore: the idea of play. There's so much focus on accomplishment and doing something that the thought of simply dinking around with paint or crayons is looked down upon. We must impart the different kinds of perspective, or understand the history of the arch, or learn the various kinds of paint, or whatever for the art lesson to have importance. Yes. those all have merit, and art history is important...but sometimes a little bit of freedom and exploration is good too. I was allowed to make messes (as long as I cleaned up after myself). Having the opportunity to create simply because I wanted to. Coming up with an idea on my own, figuring it out and then making it. That was just as important to fostering my love for the arts as going to art museums or taking classes. I can lose sight of that myself sometimes: There are days when I get too focused and serious with my art making, and then I realize I just need to splatter some paint around or just start gluing things to a canvas and see what happens. I'll pull out my crayons and scribble in my sketchbook. I'll make a collage from clippings from magazines. Just something to remind myself that art is about exploring and trying new things.
A really good book on this topic that I've been working my way through recently is The Creative License by Danny Gregory. It's subtitled "giving yourself permission to be the artist you truly are." That's what it's all about: giving ourselves and our kids the chance to use and explore our creativity. I highly suggest this book. Seriously, go out and buy it. It's one of the best art books I've ever read (and I've read a lot of them). It's a pleasure to read, chockfull of pictures on every page, and a warm, conversational tone to the book. It's like sneaking a peek at the author's journal. You can read through it quickly or you can go page by page, following the suggested activities. It'd be a great addition to your art curriculum. The Creative License is aimed at adults, but you could definitely adapt it for use with your child. Buy sketchbooks for you and your kids, and go through it together. The book is broken into two page sections for the most part, so each day you can read that pretty quickly and have a short activity to do. There's things to do like drawing your sandwich or a bagel, listing the contents of your purse, tracing the outline of your shoe. Simple stuff that gets the creative juices flowing. I'm not one to really endorse something heavily, but this book is hands down fantastic. It's just fun to read.
So, in summary my point is: have fun. Don't get hung up on making the next great masterpiece. Give your kids the room to play and explore with nice art supplies that don't break your budget. Picasso and Da Vinci made a few messes and mistakes along the way too.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Lesson plan: Comics, their history, and making one
Reading list:
-Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
-Bone vol. 1: Out of Boneville by Jeff Smith
-How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee
Materials:
-Pencil
-Eraser
-Drawing paper (11in x 14in or bigger)
-Ruler
-Pen or extra fine tip marker
Comics are an increasingly popular form of storytelling these days. I'm sure your kids have their favorite comic strip to read in the paper. Maybe, like me, they check out comics from the library (it's easy to read them when they're free!), or they request graphic novels for Christmas.
Some popular books even get the comic treatment, bringing the story to new audiences in a different form (for example, James Patterson's children series Maximum Ride is being serialized in graphic novels).
More and more movies are based on comics these days, from Spider-Man to 300 to Batman to Watchmen to the recent release Scott Pilgrim (not endorsing these by the way, just using them as well known examples). Some filmmakers even re-create frames from the original comic--they use it like a storyboard, to plot out scenes. I've heard that a movie is in the works for the Bone series by Jeff Smith.
So, comics. I know a lot of people tend to look down on them, putting "comics" in two categories: what you read in the Sunday paper--something silly and light-hearted, told in three or four frames. And the actual comic books, those serialized stories that come out every month, are considered a waste of time, not worth reading, inappropriate or just plain stupid. Like any art form, comics are not inherently good or bad. It's the artists who use that medium that create either good or bad stories. Yes, there is a lot of dreck out there. I'm in charge of the comics section at my bookstore. and I see the mass amount of garbage and downright disgusting stuff that's out there. But comics can also be used to tell moving, insightful stories, like Maus by Art Spiegelman, which tells his father's story of enduring the horrors of the Holocaust, or Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, which shows what life was like as a child growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. These are award winning tales told in the form of comics (and not stories I would suggest for children). Sometimes the old adage is true--pictures can say so much more than words.
Reading Scott McCloud's classic book is a must for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of comics. It's a graphic novel, and he uses the medium simply yet powerfully to walk the reader through the world of comics. McCloud discusses art history, the meanings of symbols and language, the types of visual representation, different kinds of comics, and more. It's a great introduction and can be a springboard into other subjects, such as modern art, art history, creative writing and storytelling.
(As always, parents, please peruse anything I mention for yourself first before assigning it to your child--I know that different kids have varying levels of maturity. I don't want to get angry e-mails that something I suggested was inappropriate for your children--please review it first.)
After reading Understanding Comics and Bone: Out of Boneville (if your kids like the first volume, there's eight more in the series), take a look at How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. This is a classic book by Stan Lee, the creator of some of the most beloved comic characters, including the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Spider-Man and the Avengers (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor,etc). It will take you step by step through the comic making process. The book gives you a list of more materials you can use; what I've listed cover the basics.
Here's a video that walks you through a simple comic (I suggest sketching out your comic in pencil first then going over it in ink):
This is just a brief introduction to the vast world of comics. I hope that your kids will enjoy learning about this art form, and maybe discover a new passion in the process.
-Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
-Bone vol. 1: Out of Boneville by Jeff Smith
-How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee
Materials:
-Pencil
-Eraser
-Drawing paper (11in x 14in or bigger)
-Ruler
-Pen or extra fine tip marker
Comics are an increasingly popular form of storytelling these days. I'm sure your kids have their favorite comic strip to read in the paper. Maybe, like me, they check out comics from the library (it's easy to read them when they're free!), or they request graphic novels for Christmas.
Some popular books even get the comic treatment, bringing the story to new audiences in a different form (for example, James Patterson's children series Maximum Ride is being serialized in graphic novels).
More and more movies are based on comics these days, from Spider-Man to 300 to Batman to Watchmen to the recent release Scott Pilgrim (not endorsing these by the way, just using them as well known examples). Some filmmakers even re-create frames from the original comic--they use it like a storyboard, to plot out scenes. I've heard that a movie is in the works for the Bone series by Jeff Smith.
So, comics. I know a lot of people tend to look down on them, putting "comics" in two categories: what you read in the Sunday paper--something silly and light-hearted, told in three or four frames. And the actual comic books, those serialized stories that come out every month, are considered a waste of time, not worth reading, inappropriate or just plain stupid. Like any art form, comics are not inherently good or bad. It's the artists who use that medium that create either good or bad stories. Yes, there is a lot of dreck out there. I'm in charge of the comics section at my bookstore. and I see the mass amount of garbage and downright disgusting stuff that's out there. But comics can also be used to tell moving, insightful stories, like Maus by Art Spiegelman, which tells his father's story of enduring the horrors of the Holocaust, or Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, which shows what life was like as a child growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. These are award winning tales told in the form of comics (and not stories I would suggest for children). Sometimes the old adage is true--pictures can say so much more than words.
Reading Scott McCloud's classic book is a must for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of comics. It's a graphic novel, and he uses the medium simply yet powerfully to walk the reader through the world of comics. McCloud discusses art history, the meanings of symbols and language, the types of visual representation, different kinds of comics, and more. It's a great introduction and can be a springboard into other subjects, such as modern art, art history, creative writing and storytelling.
(As always, parents, please peruse anything I mention for yourself first before assigning it to your child--I know that different kids have varying levels of maturity. I don't want to get angry e-mails that something I suggested was inappropriate for your children--please review it first.)
After reading Understanding Comics and Bone: Out of Boneville (if your kids like the first volume, there's eight more in the series), take a look at How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. This is a classic book by Stan Lee, the creator of some of the most beloved comic characters, including the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Spider-Man and the Avengers (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor,etc). It will take you step by step through the comic making process. The book gives you a list of more materials you can use; what I've listed cover the basics.
Here's a video that walks you through a simple comic (I suggest sketching out your comic in pencil first then going over it in ink):
This is just a brief introduction to the vast world of comics. I hope that your kids will enjoy learning about this art form, and maybe discover a new passion in the process.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Resources: DK Eyewitness Books
I've always been a visual learner: If a book doesn't have illustrations, I always think, "This would be better if it had some pictures." If there are some black and white images, I think that they should be in color (and when I was little, I would turn my storybooks into coloring books, much to my Mom's dismay). I love color and lots of pictures. And this is especially true when it comes to art! I see no point in art books printed in black and white! Van Gogh painted in vivid color--you really can't understand his work without it. Georgia O'Keefe's work just isn't the same in shades of gray. For many art movements, color was the whole point!
My point is, kids can't learn about art just by talking about it--they need some visuals. And one of my favorite publishers ever since I was little is DK Eyewitness Books. Their publications are a visual learner's paradise. DK's Eyewitness art books remain some of my favorite resources to this day. Their books are smart, informative and visually engaging. They understand that kids don't have to be talked down to when learning something new. They give you a word, define it and show you a picture of it, which helps you remember it far longer than merely seeing words on a page. Kids and adults can read the same book and get something out of it. There are books on art history, artists (multiple books on some of the more famous ones), and how-to manuals for different art techniques. Look them up at your library and you're sure to find at least one book that pertains to a topic you're currently covering.
My point is, kids can't learn about art just by talking about it--they need some visuals. And one of my favorite publishers ever since I was little is DK Eyewitness Books. Their publications are a visual learner's paradise. DK's Eyewitness art books remain some of my favorite resources to this day. Their books are smart, informative and visually engaging. They understand that kids don't have to be talked down to when learning something new. They give you a word, define it and show you a picture of it, which helps you remember it far longer than merely seeing words on a page. Kids and adults can read the same book and get something out of it. There are books on art history, artists (multiple books on some of the more famous ones), and how-to manuals for different art techniques. Look them up at your library and you're sure to find at least one book that pertains to a topic you're currently covering.
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