IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FITZ ART CLASS ;)
This class has taught me a lot since DAY ONE. Before this class i really thought i sucked at art but this class has helped me out to discover new strengths and new fun things to do.

Before and Afters

A few before and afters:



-Dey do deez veerd zounz-



Mountain landscape

Tree Landscape

Seascape

Detail, with salt

Introduction to Watercolor and Landscapes

While other projects are in progress I often like to introduce new techniques to practice.  Since students finish at different times, or sometimes need a break, this keeps the class moving forward. Students have been working primarily in dry 2-d media this semester, so I thought the introduction to different watercolor painting techniques would be the perfect departure to what we've been continually working on.  Most of my art students have never taken art, or have only had it as an elementary student, so beginning painters often find it a bit intimidating to work with at first.  Watercolor is a tough medium, but it often loosens them up a little more after focusing so hard on specific drawing skills.  Here are some results of the first wave of watercolor and landscapes.

Sometimes artists use grids to get the proportions just right,  This artist is working on a landscape of "The Mall" with a view facing The Capitol. (A very important landmark in this area)

A beginning of a torpical landscape.

"The Tornado"  - This week we also looked at how artists portray weather. One artist we looked at was Turner.

"The beach, the volcano, and my home with the flag"

A favorite of many students who have gotten a sneak peak of this landscape.  Some questions that have been asked:  Is it a planet?  Is it the desert?  Is it dirt?  Why is it empty?

"Tulips- two lips"

Framed landscape

Landscape with wax resist

Beach scene

Watercolor practice

Tessellation Station

Students have been hard at work on their tessellation projects.  While some are still "in process" we have a few that made great strides to completion.  But sometimes it's not always about the final art piece but the process.  So many great ideas have come out of this project that will eventually be a springboard for other pieces or ideas.

Inspriation from Valentine's Day



Final Valentine Tessellation

Jordan Tessellation

A work in progress.  Student has taken an understandable break to work on a portrait for her family.  This artist shows really good skills in mixing and blending color pencils.

This artist is working very diligently to finish her butterfly themed tessellation.  She was unsure about the color choices, but I think she's showing good contrast.

A complete and patterned tessellation, the colors and pattern show boldness.

Sometimes artists use symbols for their culture or beliefs.

"Boom", each one is different, and apparently about to explode!

Initials and letters can even be a part of design.

This sudent has completed the pencil portion, taking breaks to work on other projects, but it seems as though the music is coming straight out of the guitar.

Workspace

Work areas come at a premium in our school.  For a while students had to deal with me teaching on a cart and going from room to room.  The whole experience, I think, might have helped with my organization skills and being an amazing time manager.  Setting and taking down 3 times with  no passing period requires swiftness.  It wasn't ideal, but we all persevered.  We value our space, and enjoy our new spacious tables.  I teach in two classrooms  now, and we're all able to work a little bit better, spread out, and have a little bit more "art space"

Finished Tessellation

My Tessellation is about my life and the life of my closest family members.  The hour glass tells that I know time is running out.  The shovel tells about the grave you dig.  The Shield is to protect people, so I put the names of people on them to protect them.  They are in my army.  The "T" is because my name starts with one.

The Fitz Class

This class has taught me a lot of thing I never new about art I now feel I can express my feelings in art. art to me is like music I rap and I express myself in music but I also could in art when i feel like drawing. I also have learned to love the escher web sketch program it helps me with tessellation. L.R.

More Tessellations!

Check these out!  Color has been added, hidden pictures have been found!  WOW!

"Shirts, Propellers, and Flowers"

"Stop Signs and Rabbits"

"Crosses in a Field of Black"

"Birds"

Tessellations in Progress

Here are some pieces that are currently "in progress".  Students are working a lot on symmetry, which is tough when you have some really interesting shapes with bizarre angles and curved lines.  I would say the artists are working quite well, showing tons of focus and concentration on keeping those lines and patterns straight.

Look for the finished piece next week.  It's amazing.  Picture pattern, color, BOLDNESS!

This artist's piece goes unfinished, but a great theme with dogs howling at the moon.  Was this artist attempting to find balance with the yin-yang symbol?

Look for the evolution of this piece next week.  The artist is creating a Phoenix that rises from it's own ashes.  He's also working to create value with the flames.  Look for an update soon!

This is one of those shapes that could really take a lot of work. 

I think we've see something from this artist before?  I see pattern of work emerging from this artist.

A detail of the artist's work:  Snakes.

This artist has found some hidden pictures already.  Can't wait to see the finished product.

Happy Valentine's Day (delayed)

Yep, it's the end of the week, but I thought I'd throw in a few updates.  This week was a flurry of action in The Art Class.  We had a short project involving some monotypes for Valentine's day, some portrait work and consistent work on the tessellations.  It's amazing how detailed the artists work.  There are some pretty detailed and intricate pieces at work.  Check out the pictures below and be amazed at the progress and thought processes.

 Valentine's comes once a year, but you can give out as many Valentine's as your little heart desires. Students experimented with the Valentine theme for a short practice in monotypes.

 This student is influenced by music, and it's no secret that this artist loves Bob Marley.  Working on shading and proportion.  Nice work!

Another portrait of a famous contemporary pop/hip-hop artist.  Can you Guess who?  That's right, the ever-changing chameleon Nicki Minaj.  Student used the grid method to work on proportion.  I think this artist has got it right!

Deciding to create mood can be a challenge for some artists.  But I think ths one knows exactly what he's trying to say.  Why so serious?

Can you tell this artist finds music at the center of his life?  A beautiful Mandala that focuses on the movement of music. Check back later, and see what this artist is working on next.

Works in Progress

Hopefully this site will be updated by my students rather than me in the very near future.  We, do however, have some current works in progress that are going on right now.  I know they're anxious to finish the pieces they have, but until then, here are a few in progress.

Please keep in mind that it really isn't the finished product that we're after here.  In some cases you  may never see the finished product because a student may leave.

Artists are currently working on Tessellations.  Their objective is to create repetitive pictures with positive and negative spaces.  Some spaces may reassemble something, others might be abstracted, or a design.  We looked at Escher, Islamic art, and Op Art to get ideas.

This student is creating dogs in the patterns.

This student is filling in the background with black, so that the positive shape grabs out attention later.

Fashion and Flowers!

Sometimes the images don't have to go together, you just see what you see.

It's sometimes useful to use a ruler to straighten out lines, and keep the images symmetrical.

A lot of the influences come from what we like to look at. This artist is working with a lot of geometrical shapes that we viewed in Islamic Art.

Sometimes we're just inspired by the month! Happy Valentine's Day!