Getting Ready for Campers at Carlsbad Art Farm

With summer sessions starting next week, we are in full preparation mode here at Carlsbad Art Farm. That means getting our animal models ready for their close-ups, mowing many acres of weeds, setting up our outdoor studios, trimming some huge palm trees, and going over our art supplies order.

Enrollment for Art Farm continues throughout the summer. For session dates and enrollment forms, visit CarlsbadArtFarm.com and click the "Camp" tab.

Pictured here are some campers from last summer learning how artists go about drawing an animal - from initial sketch to finished drawing. We start by teaching basic animal structure. Once they understand that most mammals have the same basic bone structure with variations, it's a small step to being able to draw most any animal.

We use a lot of charcoal for drawing. It's smudgyness gets children away from a fear of getting a line wrong. Sometimes we get children who are absolutely wedded to their erasers. They will draw a line, fret that its not perfect, erase it, try again, fret, erase it, try again, fret . . . you get the idea. One way we deal with this is by taking away the erasers until the drawing is nearly finished. Charcoal is an imprecise medium. Lines can be sharp or blurred, light or very dark. Using charcoal, children begin to appreciate that making a likeness of an animal -- or any other object -- is not about technical perfection but about capturing it's essence. Charcoal drawings have a sense of movement, a quality that is ideal for drawing animals, trees with fluttering leaves, passing clouds, etc.

The class pictured here shows children working on "art horses". These are benches with a vertical board at the end on which they can lean their drawing boards (sort of like an easel you can sit on). This allows them to observe the model while drawing with correct form.

The sheep makes a good live model because it is busy grazing and tends not to move much. Drawing live animals requires close observation because the animal will move so you must hold a memory of a pose. Repeated attempts to draw the live animal enforce this memory.

A good place to practice drawing exotic animals is the zoo or wild animal park. Next time you take your child artist to the zoo, bring along a good-quality sketch pad and some soft lead art pencils (3B or 4B). Show your child that you are not fearful of making mistakes (even if you are!) by bringing along a pad and pencils for yourself. Know ahead of time which animals you want to draw to avoid the, "What do you want to draw?" "I don't know," merry-go-round. The idea is to go with a sense of purpose and to hit the ground running.

The petting zoo is a good place to draw because the animals are close up. Your child's attempts at drawing will be positively reinforced by other zoo guests who are charmed by the sight of a child drawing with a parent (and by other children who are slightly jealous that they didn't bring drawing supplies).