ARTistic Pursuits

I received this complimentary product through the 

Homeschool Review Crew.

 

Beginning Level, Art Core 1, Drawing With Graphite Pencils is just one of the many wonderful art curriculum that can be found through ARTistic Pursuits. ARTistic Pursuits offers art instruction to homeschoolers from preschool through high school. With that said, many adults find ARTistic Pursuits to be a great option for learning art as well. The book come with both text and video instruction utilizing DVD and Blue-ray disks. It contains 36 projects. You can also opt to purchase an online version of the course. 

The materials needed for this course are:

• 4 graphite drawing pencils
• 1 Prismacolor white colored pencil
• 1 vinyl eraser
• 1 sketch/drawing pad
• 4-8 sheets of black construction paper
• scissors
• glue stick
• black marker

There are 4 types of lessons included which are:

1. Art Material Video Instruction
2. Creativity: Building a Visual Vocabulary 
3. American Art Appreciation and History
4. Master Lesson

Below in the art that my children did I will briefly explain each type of lesson. 

Creativity Lesson - Shape is an Element of Art

"These lessons guide learners to observe the topic in their own environment, make connections to real-world experiences, and create a work of art from their observations and ideas."

Master Lesson - Apply the Element of Space

"Learners create a work of art as they apply all that they've learned 

about the topic throughout the unit. They use a variety of references such as still

life objects, landscapes, portraiture, and photographs while selecting subjects of personal interest, taste, and choice."

Creativity Lesson - Value is an Element of Art

Creativity Lesson - Texture is an Element of Art

Master Lesson - Apply the Element of Shape

Art Appreciation Lesson - American Artist and History

"Learners are shown how the topic is used in a master work of art. 

They discover facts about artists and the times they lived in before 

applying their new observations to a work of art that they create." 

The art appreciation lessons are very informative and interesting. For each of these lessons students will learn about an artistic form. One artist highlighted is Cecilia Beaux, Man with a Cat; 1898. In the painting the artist uses value changes show what form is like which can be seen in the folds in the man's clothing. It gives a brief synopsis of the artist. It also gives a brief synopsis of the time surrounding when the artist lived and what was going on in history. Then, like all lessons it has the student complete their own art. The description of what the student is to do is written in blue. 

Creativity Lesson - Form is an Element of Art

Master Lesson - Apply the Element of Texture

Art Material - Space

"Learners see how to use their art materials in a 6 to 10 minute video 

lesson. then they try their hand at the materials, applying what they've learned, 

as they work from direct observation."

Here is my youngest daughter listening to one of the instructional videos. My youngest daughter was not a huge fan of the videos. She gets EASILY FRUSTRATED and EASILY GIVES UP when something gets too hard, especially something that she is not good at. She has a couple of older siblings and one in particular that is an amazing artist and so she tends to shy away from art. Just like her older sister she kept on saying, "Seriously, like I could do this! She makes it look SO EASY!!" My youngest daughter works better with a step-by-step instructional guide in a book. I guess a work around would be to take snapshots of the videos and have her look at the progression of the examples. With that said, one of my other children loved the videos and found them helpful. 

Let's walk through a video lesson.

When deciding on the position of your object it is very important to 

choice the correct angle. In this picture you are simply focusing on

the tip of the tail.

In this picture you have a picture of a mohawk squirrel. 

This is a great angle of the squirrel for drawing. You can see the full tail,

its ear, its facial features, as well as its hand and foot. It is a great profile. 

You start out with simple shapes.

You then start to add in a bit of detail. 

You then form you body of the animal around your shapes.

After that you erase your shapes. 

You then begin adding the details and shading. 

You want to make the marks in the direction that the hair on the animal

would naturally grown. 

Steps utilized in this lesson:

Position To See

Draw

Use Shapes

Make Marks

Fill In Spaces

I would recommend any of ARTist Pursuits curriculum. We have used many of their art curriculum throughout our homeschooling years. Art is not an easy subject to teach, especially if you are like me and cannot even draw a decent stick figure. I have enjoyed using ARTistic Pursuits along with my children over the years as well. I actually sat and watched and drew along with my daughter during this review period. I find drawing to be quite relaxing. I sometimes actually impress myself. Be sure to see what my Fellow Crew Members had to say about this curriculum as well as many of the other ARTistic Pursuits curriculums that were reviewed. 

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