Studio Art 

The goal of New Hope’s art tutorials is to expose students to the richness of the history of art, to teach them the elements and principles of design, to have them experiment with the many possibilities of visual expression, and then to help them develop expressive intent in their work.

A typical 4-year high school art student at New Hope can expect to cover techniques of charcoal and pencil drawing, acrylic and/or oil painting, oil and chalk pastels, clay and other 2-D and 3-D mixed media. Students will also be exposed to issues of aesthetic perception, creative expression, visual art heritage, and aesthetic valuing to further develop their visual literacy.

New Hope offers “Elements and Principles of Design” to 8th/9th graders or other students who are just beginning in New Hope’s art program. This class exposes students to line, color, form, texture, value, repetition, space, variety, rhythm, emphasis through various projects and art techniques. Each lesson is taught in conjunction with “anchor works” which tie the project to art history.

For students continuing their art education, we offer “Studio Art” tutorials. These classes are tailored to the students in the class in order for them to most effectively work toward honing their individual skills in visual art. In these classes, students will study art techniques in a more intense and in-depth way and continue building on skills they have learned in earlier classes. Projects will explore new techniques, and more emphasis will be placed in independent work, planning and critique. Preparation of the artist's portfolio and other individual projects will be emphasized for students who are taking these courses with the intent of pursuing a career in the field of art.

Parents interested in our high school art tutorials are encouraged to contact the tutor to discuss their child’s previous art experiences, training, and ability. This will enable parents and tutor to work together to place the student in the appropriate tutorial.

Of Note: in order to maximize the classroom learning experience, students in "Elements and Principles" and in "Studio Art I" may be combined.  The tutor will provide instruction to groups of students according to their level of art experience.

Overview of Studio Art Projects

DRAWING UNIT

Musical Abstract Drawings

• Students will listen to various types of music and use black sharpies and watercolors to create abstract drawings. Students will listen to the chosen music and attempt to match their lines and colors to the music they are listening to. Students will continue this process until the drawing gives the student an overall feeling of being finished. The class will then discuss the importance of expressive intent in art and how to use materials and elements and principles of design to achieve this in their work.
• Anchor Works/Artists: Kandinsky 

Shoe Contour Drawings

• Students will begin by creating a blind contour drawing of their shoe. Student will follow the lines of their shoe with their eyes and try to match the movement of their eyes to the movement in their hand as they draw. Students will not look at their drawing during this stage. Students will then create a regular contour drawing while looking a their shoe and their paper, but continuing to try to match their eyes with the movement in their hands.
• Anchor Works/Artists: Matisse

Gesture Drawings of the Figure

• Students will learn the technique of gesture drawing (or loosely drawing the subject as a whole). Students will take turns “modeling” various poses while other students engage in multiple 1 minute, 2 minute and 3 minute gesture drawings. Students will work quickly, trying to imagine themselves doing the movement or pose and then trying to capture the movement of the subject through quick, impulsive strokes focusing on the movement of the model.
• Anchor Works/Artists: Nicolaides

Corner of the Room Perspective Drawing

• Students will learn how to draw with one and two point perspective. They will then choose an interesting corner in the building and create a detailed drawing of the space using their knowledge of 2-point perspective.
• Anchor Works/Artists: various artists of the Italian Renaissance 

Portraiture

• Students will learn the proportions and placement of the elements of the face and head. Each student will bring in a photo of a person that they’d like to draw a realistic portrait of and then create pencil portrait using these basic guideline of proportion and placement.
• Anchor Works/Artists: Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent

PAINTING UNIT

Watercolor Still Life

• Students will create a still life from objects around the art room and/or things brought from home. They will create a loose pencil sketch, then begin using watercolors. Students will learn basic techniques of watercolor painting and use these skills to create a watercolor painting of their still-life set up.
• Anchor Works/Artists: Cezanne, Morandi

Acrylic Landscape

• Students will learn the basic techniques of painting with acrylics and use this knowledge to create an acrylic landscape painting. Students will bring in photos of a special place and use this photo to create a sketch of their landscape. They will then transfer their design onto canvas and use techniques of acrylic painting to build up a finished landscape painting.
• Anchor Works/Artists: Monet, Pissarro

SCULPTURE UNIT

Plaster Hand and Face

• With the help of a classmate, students will create a plaster cast of their face and one of their hands. They will then brainstorm and create an overall pose and composition with a specific theme or meaning. Students will use paint and other objects to add meaning and interest to their piece. They will create an artist statement to go with the work.

MIXED MEDIA UNIT

Assemblage

• Students will brainstorm a theme and use their sketchbooks to create 3-5 gather found materials such as yarn, fabric, wire and other small objects and create an overall composition.
• Anchor Works/Artists: Picasso, Braque

Independent Study:

• Students will choose a theme, artist inspiration and medium to create an independent art project. Students will brainstorm, plan and complete this piece of work (or multiple works) as a final project. They will write an artist statement to correspond with their finished project.