Summer Art Camp III

The last camp of Summer celebrated the work of the ever-popular French artist, Henri Matisse. He captured the world's attention with his engaging use of color and style which was groundbreaking at the time. His art drew inspiration from the breathtaking landscapes, architecture and luminous light of the Mediterranean coast. Matisse's vibrant colors and distinctive style, particularly exemplified in his masterpiece "Window at Collioure," influenced our class projects as we immersed ourselves in his world.

Botanical studies: I love the results of the mixed media with watercolor pencils overlaid with gouache paints. Their rich color and ability to paint and draw with pens on the surface took the young artists work to another level.

An Interior and Landscape: We do not often do architectural studies so " The Window at Collioure “was a good chance to practice angles, depth and composition. Using oil pastels over the drawing and applying mineral oil to the surface creates a close resemblance to an oil painting.

Printmaking: We did several printmaking projects, including monoprints and a sea inspired etched foam fish prints. The class created their designs on the foam and then used the foam as a resist to print, as well as a variety of textures for the background.

Sculpture Sculpture: For our final project we had to honor Matisse and his love of doves with our bird sculptures. He not only loved them for himself, but he gifted them to friends including Picasso who incorporated them into his paintings and prints.

Sun, sand, sea, blue sky, birds and flowers, all things Summer!