| Jun. 26, 2006 Description 2006-2007 classes |
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| Jun. 26, 2006 Art Supply Review: Paint brushes |
The subject of this review deals with one of those "you get what you pay for" type of art supplies when you purchase paintburshes. We are also addressing one of my pet peeves. Those multi-pack paintbrushes that have plastic hairs sticking out of them like a bad hair day. How can you paint with that? When purchasing a paintbrush you want to have a paintbrush that will soak up and release paint. If possible you should purchase as expensive of a paintbrush as you can afford. But also realize that you can easily pay $10-$50 and up for ONE paintbrush. If you are going to put that much money in a tool you need to be willing to take care of it. Younger children are not going to be able to do this.  Crayola
puts out a decent "cheap" paintbrush that is more user friendly for
children. It has realistic hair like bristles that are firmly implanted
in the handle. Some of the cheap realistic type brushes may have decent
bristles, but when they get too water logged they shed all over
artwork. Even though you haven't invested an arm and a leg in these
brushes, you still want your children to learn how to take care of
them. Here are some general paint brush tips that I try to teach my
students:1. Never begin painting with a dry brush. A brush will pick up paint better if it is already wet. I always have my students dip their paint brush in the water and then gently touch a paper towel to get rid of some of the water. You don't want to dilute your paint, just prep the brush for painting. 2. Paint with the "bottom half" of the paint brush, never pushing the bristles all the way down. This gives you more control of the brush and prevents the handle from scratching the paper. 3. While you are painting, your goal is to keep the bristles together. This will help you have control over the brush. You have no control over a brush if the bristles are all splayed out. 4. When switching colors thoroughly rinse the paintbrush and then lightly touch the paper towel with the brush. This allows you to see if all the paint is out of the bristles and gets rid of excess water. (Note: some children feel the need to pull on the bristles while drying the brush. This will eventually cause the brush to come apart. Encourage them to "touch" the paper towel, leaving some water in the brush.) 5. When painting is complete, it is important to wash out the pain brush using a tiny bit of soap to rid the brush of any hidden paint. Then reshape the bristles so that it has a nice shape and place it either horizontally or standing on end with bristles up in a jar or cup to dry. How the brush dries is how it will be used the next time. Think how hard it is when your child goes to bed with a wet head and wakes up with crazy hair. You almost have to wash their hair all over again to get straightened out. The same is true with paintbrushes. If you teach your children from the beginning, how to treat their art supplies, it will make it easier when you are tempted to purchase "real artist supplies" for your budding artist. You won't stifle their creativity with your fear of them wasting or ruining their supplies. When you finally decide to walk down that long isle of paintbrushes in the art store, you need to know what media you will be using the paintbrush with. There are brushes for acrylics, watercolors and oil paints. Stores usually group the brushes so it is easy to find the section you need. |
| Jun. 26, 2006 Art Supply Review: Colored Pencils |
 Often I am asked about using and buying art supplies. Although there are many places that you can save money on supplies there are some things that are worth the extra cost because it cuts down on user frustrations. The media that I am going to review today is Colored Pencils. My favorite color pencils are Prisma Colored Pencils. The reason I like these pencils is because of the way it "flows" across the paper. The lead is soft enough that control over shading is easily obtained. Yet somehow even though the lead is soft, it is easy to sharpen these pencils. (side note, NEVER use an electric pencil sharpener on colored pencils. It needlessly eats up precious pencil and also can jam up your electric sharpener because the lead breaks easily.)  If Prisma colored pencils are a little out of your price range, there is a student grade colored pencil by the name brand Prang.
Prang colored pencils are still overall pretty easy to sharpen. The
other cheap brands are difficult to sharpen and keep a lead on the
pencil. You end up sharpening the pencils so much that you waste most
of the pencil and a lot of your time. |
| May. 7, 2006 Purpose of art |
This website The Purpose of art is a good summary of art through the ages. |
| May. 6, 2006 Introduction |
Hello~ this blog is a way for me to share what I do in my art classes. I hope to also add my favorite art links as well. |
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| Natural Expression is a program for all children, not just the talented. |
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• Description 2006-2007 classes • Art Supply Review: Paint brushes • Art Supply Review: Colored Pencils • Purpose of art • Introduction |
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