Artful Prompting, 2

(These posts are pretty much copy-pasted from the art forum where I first wrote them)

29 Jan 2024
Two Fridays have come and gone since my last posting about my family's art prompt adventure. It isn't because we haven't been doing it, but because we bit off more than we could chew! The kids drew three prompts: The name of my youngest, one of their uncles, and Claude Monet!

So, two portraits (should you chose to interpret the prompt that way, and most did/do) and the style of one of the fathers of Impressionism. Whom, it turns out, my children did not know much about--no worries, we'll learn like we did with Georgia O'Keeffe--but they didn't even have a good grasp about what Impressionism is. They were discouraged and unhappy with any results they were getting, and this was when I realized just how much art baggage and assorted culture I have picked up over the years. I incorrectly assumed that with a little "YouTube refresher" everyone could be on the same artistic page I was.

So we voted, midweek, to drop Tonton (endearing term for "uncle" in French) from the challenge. That still didn't get us closer to knowing how to approach Impressionism, particularly Monet's style, who, unhelpfully to us, did *not* paint a lot of portraits.

Another vote decided we would extend this challenge for two weeks, and I dug into some fun activities with the kids, geared to get them to loosen up, "dab" the paint, and be conscious of values. That culminated in little copies of Claude Monet's painting "San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk."

(Monet did this in oils and we worked in watercolor, making it harder to get his "blended dabbing;" but watercolor is definitely faster and easier to work with/clean up after with kiddos!)

They started to have more fun, which is the point of it all, but there are still pockets of resistance in my seven-year-old.🤪

On Friday, I will have portraits or "figures in a landscape" to show for those who are willing to have me share their work.😝

I have learned:

- additional things about Impressionism;

- some of the limits of the prompt challenge; but

- how to roll with changes to accommodate the goals of having fun with learning and creativity. The beauty of our learning style is that we are on no one else's timetable but our own. We can slow down or speed ahead as we want.

How did you creatively play this week? Learn anything you'd like to share or make anything you would like to post?
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(Follow-up posted 13 Feb)

I promised follow up on the Monet inspired paintings of my youngest son.  I will share mine and then what my youngest son did.  Because "self-portrait" is also an upcoming prompt, each person is not obliged to draw/paint themselves when their individual name is picked.  So, Youngest Son, not too thrilled by Monet, chose to be inspired by George Meouchy, a Lebanese artist, whose exhibit we visited recently.

Arches Oil Paper, 23x31cm (9x12in)

This was immensely challenging, and I almost threw in the towel multiple times.  I painted him a tad thicker than he really is, and trying to get proportions and a believable figure showed me just how much I need to do more work with anatomy. It is frightening and amazing how the smallest of brushstrokes can totally alter something.

And Youngest Son's George Meouchy-inspired rhino, a whopping 50X60cm (20x24) canvas panel, acrylics:

I love how brave he was in going big.  Momma needs to take some lessons!