Drawing Time

Luke has been asking to add back daily drawing time for some time. Unfortunately, it had fallen by the wayside over the last year and I'm trying to work it back into our schedule with a new baby. Last year, Sammy was taking longer naps giving me and Luke plenty of time to listen to music and draw together. It was a relaxed part of our day. I know Luke really liked that there was something in his curriculum that we could do together and that he could have me all to himself for a little while each day. Just thinking about that makes me sad that I didn't make it more of a priority, but I'm trying to make sure we can draw together a few times a week. As things are always changing we now include Sammy during drawing time. Sam has more fun playing with the colored pencils than actually drawing, but that's okay. I know he enjoys just being with us. Here's Luke's drawing of squirrels in Autumn. He drew this based on a page from Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft and Richard G. Van Gelder.


Here's the page that Luke was drawing.

I received a book catalog in the mail with this delightful picture.

I suggested to Luke that we might want to draw our own version.

Here's Luke's picture of a lazy cat and sleeping dog.

Here's my version of the lazy cat and sleeping dog. I concentrated on filling up the entire page with color.

Here's the original catalog picture. It's a lot more vibrant than our work with Prismacolor pencils.

I drew this bird today while nursing Tess. When I wasn't nursing her, I was holding her and trying to draw at the same time. It's quite an accomplishment to draw while holding a baby. I really wanted the use of my other arm, but I'm quite satisfied with the result even though my bird doesn't look as happy as the original.

Here's the cover of the book, How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird. We really enjoy drawing from picture books. It's a lot of fun using our colored pencils, but I have a purpose in these exercises. I'm hoping that this will teach Luke to pay close attention to details. For instance, this little bird isn't just blue and red. If you look closely, there's more than one shade of blue. There are hints of purple, green and even a little yellow making this bird more interesting with all that layered color and texture. Picture books offer more than just a good story. They are a class in art appreciation if you pay close attention.