Student's Work

4th Grade Self-Portrait

Graphite

4 yr. old Pre-school Self-Portrait
Crayon

4th Grade Self-Portrait
Graphite

5th Grade Facial Feature Study along with Perspective
Graphite

3rd Grade Abstract Portrait

Oil Pastel

5th Grade Master Study

Soft Pastel

5th Grade Master Study

Soft Pastel

I used to teach elementary art before my last daughter was born, and I came across these pictures in a file on my computer. Oh the memories... The job was very demanding with all the prepartation time given to each class. I taught pre-school thru 5th grade. I do miss the rewards of teaching, but not sure if a large classroom setting is what I will do again. Private lessons may be the next step (if I teach again). Applause to all you teachers out there...you really do sacrifice alot of time and money for our children.

Graphite...It's been awhile!

"Rachel Eden"

14x11
Graphite on Matte Board

I have spent the past year and half focused on oil painting that it was refreshing to pick up the pencil again. It is interesting how your mind thinks differently when you are using pencil rather then oil paint.

One of my weaknesses that I am trying to improve on is the ability to achieve a likeness without using techniques such as griding the image. There are times that I am successful just "eyeing it', but other times...not so much. This piece gave me troubles, and I had to turn to my grid (this was the second attempt).

Painted Teapot

The teapot survived the kiln! I was very pleased to see that my teapot survived it's first fire in the kiln. I'm not very experienced in pottery and therefore, always nervous that air bubbles will cause it to crack or explode.

In the past when I have made clay sculptures, I've always painted them with acrylic paint. I decided to use glaze on this because I never glazed before and I thought it appropriate for a teapot. Wow, I didn't realize how unpredictable glaze is. I knew that the true color wasn't evident until after the glaze firing, but didn't realize how hard it would be to get a good even coat. I followed the advice from a more experienced artist... three coats would give me good coverage, but as you can see in the picture, not all colors cover well with just three coats. The blue glaze should have been applied with 4 or 5 coats. (Lesson learned)

Finished Portrait

"See You in the Morning"

20x24

Oil on Canvas

I thought I would post my commissioned piece now that the touch-ups have been completed. Today was the first time that I have experienced an unveiling of one of my paintings. It was touching to see how appreciative the recipient was to be given this from the group of dear women. Truly a moment to remember!