Art Lesson on Pencils

School is in session! I’m going to give you Pencil 101.  Did you know art must be learned block by block just like math or science? We always start with pencils!

For great art you need different kinds of lines, darks, lights, etc. and for that you need a range of pencils. They’re numbered like this:

9H 8H 7H 6H 5H 4H 3H 2H HB 2B 3B 4B ..... to 9B.

All the pencils in your house are either 2H, HB or 2B, grouped under the name ‘#2 pencils.’

H stands for hard, and these are light pencils, 9H being nearly invisible. The super hard pencils can also be sharpened to a deadly point and used as a lethal weapon.

B stands for black, and the get continually darker out to 9B, the blackest and most dastardly of all.*  These pencils will break when you drop them because the graphite is so soft, to make dark marks.  So, drop your H pencils.  

If you look at the points as in the second photo, the fattest graphite is the darkest pencil, the skinniest would be the lightest.  So, you don’t even need the pencil name to know what you want! 🙂. Any questions? 🙂 

*art people, I’m simplifying.  I know what you’re thinking.

Lessons in Art

Take a look at this beautiful sunset.  Look at the tree with the sun behind it.  I’m going to assume  ;) you know that the tree doesn’t stop at the sun and have the top half of the tree floating in space above it.  You know the tree is whole; your mind attaches it even though you can’t see it.  In art, that’s called an implied line.  

Now, I have two paintings, Grant Wood’s and mine.  Mine is super simplistic compared to his.  You see the wire that Pippy and the bird are sitting on.  You KNOW that the wire is constant, even though I broke it up for interest.  Implied line.

  Grant Wood’s is more complex; you can see how the man’s ladder points toward George; how the man’s hand points toward George’s ax, how the narrator leads you toward the cherry tree. Even the little tassel balls on the curtain lead you down to the narrator.  Implied line.  

There.  Now you’ve had your art lesson for the day. :)

Art Teacher Preparations

Remember your teachers, people, because we spend August working like crazy people whilst you are laying around the pool. I’ve laid up $1,000.00 worth of supplies (you’re welcome, Jerry’s Artarama) so far in preparation for my classes.  A couple classes are full, but I still have a bit of room in my others.  Teaching in The Woodlands and in Conroe.  For formal homeschool classes in all subjects, check us out at:

www.hisclasses.org

 (The Woodlands)

And,

www.ttcclasses.com

(Conroe)

And by the way, if you are looking for a FABULOUS pencil, find those big Jet Blacks at Jerry’s.  LOVE.

Art Students

Here are my art students from 2017/2018 school year. Love these guys SOOOOOO much!

It doesn’t take very long for my classes to get to be family, due to the nature of our study and the way I work.  By the end of the year, it can be a pretty sad last few classes!