Artworks of our amazing students!
As the semester is now coming to an end, I would like to present to you some of the recent artworks done by our students.
Our fantastic new art room is now open and we love that the room is so big and full of natural light.
I am so grateful for the students' patience and I am happy to see the students are just as excited as I am to finally experiment with different mediums and utilize this space we are given to be creative!
Watercolor
Watercolor was the first medium taught. Prior to this, we mostly worked with pencil on regular A4 paper as I introduced students to the basic elements in drawing – Line, shape, proportion and perspective, light and shadow.
After practicing with monotones for such a long time, students were exhilarated to finally work with colors. They created colorful landscape paintings and experimented with watercolor techniques such as the wet-on-wet/dry, building up color, achieving different values, and creating an “ombré” or gradient effect. Some also experimented with a flicking technique to add star like splatters to their paintings.
The soluble nature of watercolor pigments makes the medium one that is hard to predict or control. Embracing this quality of the medium however, allows students to create beautiful, fluid, impressionistic artworks as almost any combination of color and blending of colors can create a pleasing image.
Drawing/Sketching
After about one week of experimentation with watercolor, students were asked to return to still life sketching to improve their basic drawing skills.
Sketching and drawing are fundamental for any artist as they force us to pay attention to details and thereby increase our observational and problem solving skills. Only by mastering the basics and at the same time stimulating our creative minds can we create art that best reflect life and translate emotion and meaning.
Soft Pastels
After the Christmas holiday, students were given the opportunity to experiment with soft pastels. For most students, it was their first time using the medium. The experience was one that was messy and a lot of fun. I consider the level of control one can have with soft pastel is between that of watercolor and pencil.
You can create a good amount of detail as the tip of the pastel can be shaped and with enough pressure, you can really press its pigment into the paper. However, we mostly need to blend out those pigments to create a very soft, gradient effect. Rubbing the pigment in with our fingers allows for more control and at the same time helps us capture the natural movements of nature.
