Sunday, November 1, 2015

Teaching Imaginative Realism in High School

Mr. Seifert from Information Technology
at Athens Area High School helps out as a model.
Dr. Andrew Wales, art teacher at the Athens Area High School in Pennsylvania, says:
"In Art 3 and Art 4, we are learning how artists portray the costumed figure. As a guide, we're using a selection from Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist by James Gurney. In this way, we're learning what real artists do when they want to portray a fictional scene."
Imagine a train track here
He continues: "We're using models and makeshift costumes to set up imaginary scenarios. Students will use these as sources for drawings. They'll use other sources for background imagery."
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Teachers: If you want to use Imaginative Realism as a text, why not order a classroom copy from me (USA only, please) that I can sign to you or your school? If you remind me that you're a teacher, I'll send a free signed poster, too.

2 comments:

Jim Hartlage said...

This is great. I'm actually a shop teacher, but we do quite a bit of "artistic" style drawing when doing thumbnails for rockets, cars, cereal boxes, etc. I'm constantly pushing my kids for more realism in their sketches.

For day 31 of Inktober I did an ink wash painting with color pencil overlay (you can see it at http://jimhartlageart.blogspot.com) implementing many of the techniques I have learned here and from your videos. I would like to keep the pencil from smudging as I continue to use the sketchbook. Do you recommend using a fixative over multimedia works such as this?

Thank you.

Jim

PS - I'm really looking forward to the next DVD

James Gurney said...

Thanks, Jim. Yes, the colored pencil will sometimes smudge or transfer a bit if the book is pressed very much. Workable fixative, such as Krylon will secure and protect the surface. However, it will make it less receptive to any future drawing or painting, and it might shift the color and patina a bit. Test it out on a scrap first, especially for gouache, which has a delicate surface.