Little Picasso's: The Iris

Painting with small children is definitely a joy! However, I love working with older students too. They are able to visualize, and have better perception and control, which means amazing results! This painting of an Iris, is hauntingly beautiful, and I have a feeling "S"'s grandma will cherish her painting for a very long time. It was such a joy to work with this artist! Definitely a natural artist!

Our first meeting was all about background. 8th grader, "S" sponge painted the entire background with a variety of greens, and yellows to achieve a hazed look for the background. Here she is starting out.

"S" commented on how you wouldn't think a background could take so long! It's true though- every part of the composition takes time and thought to achieve the look you want. I had put in marks so she knew approximately where to do lights and darks, but I really stressed blending while the paint was wet to give it that misty look.

Here "S" carries the light color into the dark, and is definitely achieving the look we want!

Beautiful!

"S", you are so cute!

Now adding on more layers...

And finishing up the process.

Finally, "S" added some yellow spots of color for lighting.

And we wrapped our first session! The background was gorgeous! I couldn't wait to add in the iris!

Session 2:

Today was completely different for "S" as she used brushes and lots of blending to create the iris. I'm naming my small detailing brush after her! Her brush of choice :)

I had mixed the colors for her and she followed the pencil sketches and used a photograph of an iris to achieve the look of the petals. I was very impressed with her precision and blending with the brush. She was able to achieve gorgeous results! You can see it all coming together in these pictures.

As an eighth grader, with a natural eye and ability to blend beautifully, she was able to really give a dimensional look to her iris without much guidance on my part. "This is so relaxing!" So true "S", painting is definitely a great way to slow down and relax!

Okay- I was starting to go crazy taking pictures- I loved the look of what she created!

This painting was a true labor of love! "S" really focused and took her time on this painting! It paid off!

adding in browns around the flower buds.....

Time for stems! You can see my sketches where she would mix her greens to create the flower stems now.

"S", it was so fun to get to know you too! I have 10 year old girls, and am always sad about them growing up, but if they turn out as sweet as "S", I have nothing to worry about!

We stopped with the iris stem today and would meet one more time for the rest of the grass and foliage to complete the painting.

Session 3:

Today was our final meeting. This time I got "S"'s paints ready and we talked about blending techniques to add value and dimension to the grasses. I showed her some techniques on a small canvas and then let her go! Then I painted on one end of my counter while she painted on the other. She didn't need me looming over her :) so we just painted, and talked, and relaxed-so much that I forgot to take pictures until she had finished her green foliage! OOPS! Didn't she do an amazing job though?

"S" holding her brushes of choices, all the small ones!

I got her finishing up her grasses here- Beautiful!!!

Okay, does this painting REALLY have to leave my home?????

We took breaks and discussed where and if she should add more greenery. With "S" I really wanted to encourage her to make the decision for herself because she had such a natural eye and I knew her decision would be right no matter what.