ARTistic Pursuits, Elementary 4-5, Book One

Book excerpt: This book is the answer for the child who wants to learn to draw more realistically but doesn’t know where to start. It incorporates the creative aspects of making art into each lesson. Students can begin this book without prior knowledge of art and work independently without the need for parental instruction. Children learn to see the elements of art in nature and in artwork by American masters. They will learn the techniques that artists use and produce a final work that requires assimilation of the knowledge gained in the three previous lessons within the unit. Each element is fully covered through this process of learning and builds on the others through simple yet engaging lessons. Children find, to their delight, that they are asked to choose the subject they want to draw. This results in a meaningful works of art as children fully engage in the process. In this way, children create real works of art from the beginning to the end of the book, without boring practice routines or copying methods. Children watch their artistic skills improve and are encouraged by the works they produce. Children acquire skills in pencil drawing, scratch art, and markers. The art appreciation pages show how American artists like Remington, Audubon, Copley, and others used the elements of art and composition in their famous works, reproduced in full color. Technique pages demonstrate steps when working from direct observation, ways to add texture to a drawing, how to show form with lines, and other topics relevant to creating a drawing. The text is short and to the point and over 230 illustrations enhance visual understanding of the concepts. The content and conversational tone is perfectly suited to the age level. The book provides lessons for the completion of sixty-eight finished drawings that are both original and entirely the child’s own. “This curriculum works. It makes artists! My children are really learning to draw, not just copy someone else’s artwork, and to use their drawing in their daily lives. And it is so easy to use. ” Homeschool Parent – Nancy Gorman / Massachusetts