Plants close up

We are working in class on a project that very much focuses on close observational drawings.
This is such an important skill to develop, and lays the foundation for further development and confidence in the art class.
With the recent worries about where art exists within schools, and the focus on literacy and numeracy within the curriculum, I think it is crucial to illuminate how art feeds the entire curriculum, developing strengths within pupils that improve their work and aptitude in other subjects. I will be posting the work that this project produces as we go along, and I hope to show off just how all encompassing art can be as a subject.

Leaves and nature are an excellent subject matter. They are easily available and infinite in their complexity and variety. The easy availability is a big factor in this project, I know that when I ask a pupil to make an observational drawing from life they will be able to find the resources.

This drawing captures not only the shape and details of the veining of the leaf, but uses refined use of tone creating space and form. The pupil used a magnifying glass to view the leaf close up.

The pupil here, has concentrated on trying to capture the linear quality of the veins. She has a delicate use of colour and I think that this painting looks fragile like the leaf.

This pupil was keen to capture the spiky quality of the fern. He experimented with the oil pastels, using colour effectively. I like the way the brown stalk can be seen behind the green spindles.

This was a homework task. The pupils were asked to make an observational drawing of a section of plant, and they were asked to use a biro pen. I really love the confident strong line in this drawing, it looks effortless and almost scribbled at the same time as carefully observed and controlled. There feels like a lot of energy in this drawing.

Again this was part of the pen drawing homework exercise, here the pupil is paying attention to the direction that the veins on the leaf take as well as the serrated line on the outside of the leaf.