Art Work from Art Farm

I'm just now starting to sift through three-years worth of student art work with the daunting task of trying to choose what to put on my website gallery. I've photographed so many images. The work posted there will eventually represents a range of ages from students entering second-grade through middle school.

Seen here is a lovely charcoal rendering of a horse by a second-grader. Students at Art Farm work from live animal models in outdoor studios on our 10-acre reserve. By the time this student rendered this horse, she had spent studio time learning how to use charcoal media and studying some basic horse anatomy. Her class was shown a diagram of a horse skeleton, and we went over how the horse moves and why. We watched a short film clip showing a horse in motion, and another illustrating how artists through the ages have depicted horses.

By the time we brought in a live horse to draw, this student was well prepared to tackle her subject. One obstacle to overcome when drawing a live animal is that animal models tend to move. That is why having a good sense of how the animal is put together to begin with helps in the drawing of it.

In our studio classes at Art Farm, students work at special easels called "art horses" (familiar to anyone who has ever gone to an art college or university) which allow them to sit down while drawing from a model. The art horse also allows them to draw at a tilt with a good range of arm and hand motion while closely observing the model. This is incredibly important for many types of drawing.

You can see from this charcoal drawing that there is looseness and charm to the line style and smudging that is moving away from simple contour or "coloring book"-style drawing toward a greater sophistication of expression. Not every line has been erased because it was "imperfect" (in fact I often ban erasers from class). You can see the anatomy under the surface: the bones supporting the animal. There is a sense of volume in the belly. This student has been given a high-grade piece of charcoal paper that allows the texture of the rubbings to take hold on the surface in a way that cheap construction paper cannot. The horse looks alive because the drawing technique is fluid and alive. Also, it has the look of an object rendered from a live model.

This second-grader, like many students her age, was very excited to be taught how to observe an animal like an artist and then how to go about getting it down on paper.

Surfing Links On the Art Farm Blog

As noted in an earlier post, I divide my blog lists into one suitable for younger artist and a second that comes under a "PG-13" heading, with the commonsense disclaimer that blogs are constantly morphing and parents need to monitor usage as they see fit.

All my listings, whether they come under blogs or links, are here because I believe they are great compendiums of information and creative talent. The links are not separated by age category, so parents may want to visit a site first to see if it is appropriate for any given child.

In listing links and blogs for parents and kids interested in art, my goal is to sift the wheat from the chaff that's floating about on the Internet. Today I hit upon an upstart publishing house, Drawn and Quarterly, that publishes literary comics and graphic novels. It is supported in part by the Canadian government. It's founding publisher, Chris Oliveros, pictured right from the biography page at D & W's website, set out in 1989 to convince the world's top literary comic artists to publish with with D & Q. D& Q also has a blog.

Today, with cartoonists that have been instrumental in defining the literary comics medium for the past twenty years, and a willingness to experiment with formats and concepts, the website notes that "Drawn & Quarterly has become one of the most influential art and literary comics publishers in North America, if not the whole world."

Looking through a few of the artist biographies, this boast seems to have some foundation in fact. To read the artists' biographies, visit the site, click on "artists" and then click on the image of the book sitting on the desk top of each artist. One example is Cartoonist/Illustrator Raymond Briggs who has been writing and drawing children’s books and graphic novels for 40 years. Some of his best-loved books include Father Christmas and The Snowman.

For high school students interested in the art of the literary graphic novel or something much more sophisticated than Manga or superhero-style comics story lines, this is a great site. The quality here is along the lines of Art Spiegleman's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Maus", or the more recent "Persepolis".

A Blog for People Who Like to Draw

Drawn! is a collaborative weblog for illustrators, artists, cartoonists, and anyone who likes to draw. The blog listings at Drawn! are a treasure-trove of talent. It's addictive. I keep telling myself I'm just going to visit one more blog entry at Drawn! and then go get some "real" work done. Every day there's something new to look at.

I've posted a link to Drawn! under my "PG-13" blog list because this is a blog that has listings with adult themes and content, but Drawn! is also chock-a-block with stuff that is wonderful for young people. So I suggest that parents go to Drawn! and start bookmarking blogs to share with their kids.

One example is the wonderful illustrated literary blog, "Boogie Woogie" (see owls above), maintained by a dad and his kids, listed under my "Blog List for Young Artists." I found this at Drawn!. Not only is Boogie Woogie charming, but the idea itself is one that can be replicated by any family wanting to share family time, books, and art.

Drawn! is also a wonderful resource for art teachers. If you have a Smart Board in your classroom, there are many avenues for using these blogs to supplement instruction.

Blogs for Younger and Older Artists

Art Farm has two blog list headings: "Blogs for Younger Artists" and "PG-13 Artists' Blogs".

These blogs, for the most part, are maintained by artists. I post blogs because they are wonderful resources for learning about art technique, being introduced to new art, taking glimpses into the wonderful world of keeping art journals (for example, Vickie Henderson, a birder, who keeps journals about bird watching), etc.

Another example is Artist Duane Keiser, pictured here with his painting of a giant PB & J sandwich. Keiser does lots of food still lifes and his blog explains his process. What I like about this, for kids, is that it shows them, much the way Andy Warhol did with his soup cans in his time, that the most mundane subject matter from everyday life can be the stuff of art. What I like even more is that it shows kids that not everything is done on Photoshop. This is done on a big canvas, with messy paints and a fistful of brushes, and the guy has to know basic perspective, composition, color theory, and how to paint and draw to get this accomplished.

My ratings guide for my blogs list come with this disclaimer: I cannot guarantee what will or won't appear on a blog from day-to-day (or even moment-to-moment). Blogs are maintained by other people. These people may post whatever they like whenever they like. What I have done is visited each site personally, looked through them, and posted them on my site because I believe these blogs are well-established, have artistic merit, and have educational value to my audience.

My rating system is based on what I would allow my 10-year-old daughter to look at. Every family is different, so you must use your own judgement.

Anything under "Blogs for Younger Artists" I would have no problem allowing my daughter to view unsupervised. Anything under "PG-13 Artists Blogs" I would view first before deciding whether or not to let my daughter have access (it's just like the movies, some PG-13 rated films are fine for younger kids. It's the parent's call).

If you find these blogs useful, please take a moment to let me know by commenting to this post. If you find a blog that you believe should be moved to the "PG-13 category", I would also appreciate a heads-up.

Goat Art? Why Art Farm Summer Camp is Unique

Summer camps abound in San Diego County. Art camps, too. So what's so unique about Carlsbad Art Farm?

Art Farm is a place where kids come to learn how to paint, draw, and otherwise make art from live animal models in outdoor studio classrooms nestled on a beautiful, wooded 10-acre coastal property.

At Art Farm students take a step back to a time and place where the emerging talents of young artists are treated seriously and nature serves as their inspiration. They cross our wooden bridge and leave behind cityscapes, stoplights, and pavement for a setting that looks much as Carlsbad did back in the early 1960s – when the director’s family first purchased and set out to preserve the property.

Kandinsky the Art Loving Goat (pictured above; she will eat your art work if you letter her get too close!), Picasso the mini-mule, Hilda the Soccer Dog, Maude the Mystery Chicken, and all our other animal models at Art farm loved meeting the many students who came to camp last summer and they look forward to seeing some new faces this summer

To see more of Art Farm and to download enrollment forms, follow this link.

Introducing Art Farm Instructor Kris Finch

Carlsbad Art Farm has assembled some great talent for our Summer Camp program this year (to learn more about our staff, follow this link and click on instructors. Visit frequently for updates on visiting instructors).

Kris Finch will be teaching drawing and oil painting this summer. He has a wonderful low-key style of instruction that is appealing to students. Kris and I sat down one afternoon to paint my mini-Mule, Picasso, and I was fascinated by his technique and how simply he explained it while whipping up this spot-on portrait of my mule. Kris is a classically trained portrait artist, but as you can see from the painting here he’s adept in the barnyard as well.

To see more of Kris’ work, visit his website.

Now Showing: The Works of Lori and April Mitchell

Two Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp staffers are currently having shows in coastal San Diego.

Girard Gourmet, at 7837 Girard Ave. in La Jolla, is showcasing the illustration work of Lori Mitchell (see picture at right) now through mid-April. Lori will be teaching drawing, painting, and mosaic art this summer at Art Farm.

Lori's mosaic work is for sale at the wonderful Art N Soul On 101 Gallery at 633 South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. Art N Soul features whimsical high-quality arts and crafts for by local artists.

April Mitchell, who is joining Art Farm's staff this summer as a teacher's aide, has work on display through March at The Artist Space at Southfair Gallery, 2010 Jimmy Durante Blvd., in Del Mar, as part of Canyon Crest Academy's Senior senior art show.

Registration Begins March 15th!

Hey everyone, welcome back to another great year at the Carlsbad Art Farm. Our registration will begin March 15th, so be ready to sign up and get the session you want...it fills up fast!

Stay tuned for more info soon!