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Expressing Feelings

Through Art

Instructional Guidebook

Written By

Marilyn Palmer

Expressing Feeling Through Art is produced by

Light Bringer Project in association with

Mental Health America of Los Angeles

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Foreword

Expressing Feelings Through Art has enjoyed a long and

successful history as an arts and prevention program in our public high

schools. Through the vision of key women who were there from the

beginning, and others who have supported and guided it over the years,

EFTA has been an important personal benchmark for hundreds of

participating students. We would also assert that the program holds even

more relevance for young people today in our more complex,

depersonalized world.

The students are always at the heart of the program. It is for them

that we have taken another step in EFTAʼs lifeline to provide greater

student access and tools with which they can further explore their creative

selves. We believe this will be a useful guidebook for our instructors, many

of whom have also been real champions of EFTA over the years.

Created by Marilyn Palmer, both a social worker and artist, this

instructional guide provides useful insights and exercises that can be

employed as the program unfolds in the classroom. As it places a great

emphasis on the artmaking process itself, we think its use can bring even

more authenticity to the programʼs valuable objectives.

We look forward to your participation this year and wish all of our

teachers and students great success with your creative undertakings!

Thomas Coston

Light Bringer Project

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Expressing Feelings

Through Art – A Brief History

It began in 1982…

The Expressing Feelings Through Art Program was founded by

Rose D. Jenkins-Mallory, M.D., Director of Children and Youth Services

and later Deputy Director for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental

Health. This program is a broad-based countywide arts initiative devoted to

encouraging the personal expression of young people through art and

written word.

The annual EFTA exhibition validates the studentsʼ creative efforts as

significant and worthy by presenting their artworks to the community-at-

large at a different venue each year. Awards and scholarships are also

given to outstanding exhibitors by a jury of Los Angeles-area artists and

writers.

EFTA is produced by Light Bringer Project, a Pasadena-based

nonprofit arts organization <www.lightbringerproject.com>, in association

with Mental Health America. The program is primarily funded by a grant

from the W.M. Keck Foundation.

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Introduction This guide is provided to augment exercises which were written with the

intent to compliment the California Standards for secondary art classes.

My personal background includes classroom experience, a background in

social work, clinical psychology and art therapy.

I earned a Masterʼs degree in Clinical Psychology and have over twenty-

five years working with adolescents; a large number of whom are

designated as at-risk and/or problematic. I also am an artist who relies

heavily on perfecting renderings of works I originally produced in an effort

to express my feelings through art.

My interest in this Program is inspired by experience with my grandson,

who is in an independent school program within a public school district that

allows him to attend high school and community college concurrently. He

has always been involved in the art world and has participated in several

artistic events over the years and has produced a large body of work given

his youth. He was assigned his art contract in order to meet California

Standards and to complete high school requirements. He soon became

unenthusiastic and somewhat problematic while trying to complete his

requirements.

I felt concerned and soon realized that he felt discouraged because he felt

the assignments did not leave room for placing an original stamp on the

work he produced. I do fully support the goal of the student understanding,

critiquing and analyzing various works of art, as well as perfecting various

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art techniques. However, it is my belief that an individual stamp should be

allowed in each body of work that the young artist produces.

Foremost, this guidebook hopes to achieve the goal of engaging the

student. A secondary goal is eliminating behavioral problems within the

classroom by encouraging the enrichment of the student by tapping into his

or her creativity. In order to achieve this, the student must understand and

appreciate art. This manual is presented in a manner where art techniques,

works of artists representing the major schools of art, as well as teaching

the student to make an analysis of these works is coupled with the

opportunity for the student to have hands on experience with this process.

This guidebook serves to add experiential exercises designed to awaken

the studentʼs creative urge in order that he or she can approach the

individual exercises in a creative manner while adhering to additional

exercises designed to meet all requirements.

In order to present this instructional aid in a manner that ensures meeting

California Standards various texts used in California public schools were

surveyed. Most prominent text I used for the use of structure and

understanding definitions of various techniques is Art Talk by Rosalind

Rayans, Ph.D. Further, I have given alternant exercises when possible for

those teachers whose students are using paper and graphite only.

Expressing Feelings Through Art challenges the student to look inside

him or herself and identify a feeling that is then crystallized in individual

works of art. Representation in a catalogue as well a chance to participate

in a scholarship program or an award is offered. To achieve the goals of

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the EFTA Program, this guidebook approaches the teaching of art with the

means to provide the student the tools for an understanding of art as well

as serving as a means of tapping into the studentʼs creativity.

Further, it should be noted that strong benefit that the young students

receive from the instruction and interaction of arts education programs is

the promotion of natural language patterns that seek information, opinion,

reflection, and critical comments. For at-risk youth, this type of opportunity

to improve communication skills is invaluable as they often come from a

world where positive, interactive communication is a rare commodity.

The Expressing Feelings Through Art Program addresses both creativity

and improved communications. In their report, Heath and Roach describe

arts education programs as providing, as a matter of course, the

opportunities for youth to "…engage in regular exchanges with older peers

and adults around problem posing and hypothetical reasoning. These

language forms emerge naturally, for they move along a group task that

must be accomplished in a certain way to a high standard within a given

period of time. A significant outcome of their participation in such art

programs that set the stage for regular verbal expression is that the youth's

self-image and self-esteem increase greatly." Contact with the arts offers a

positive stimulus and can interrupt the drift into a negative lifestyle. Itʼs

exciting to watch this creative and personal growth in young people.

Marilyn Palmer, M.S. Social Worker, Therapist Educator, Visual Artist

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The Creative Process

What is the benefit of pursuing the creative process? Letʼs look at a typical

art class based upon learning how to view and analyze a particular aspect

of art. The student is then asked to render a piece with accurate

proportions, shading, and color, emphasizing technical skills and

craftsmanship.

In order to be able to express oneʼs self in an individual manner one does

need to have these technical skills knowledge. For example, the

understanding of the post impressionists using vibrant and sometimes

swirling colors, such as the famous Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh,

which gives an electric feeling to a piece can be used to enhance oneʼs

creative endeavors.

Most well schooled artists can talk endlessly about a particular work or a

particular style. It is speculated that it has become personal to him or her-

something to use or discard when rendering the artistʼs own artwork. Most

teenagers do not have the background to become enthusiastic about

engaging in this type of discussion.

It is obviously important to understand creativity. On Wikipedia creativity is

described as a mental and social process involving the generation of new

ideas or concepts or new associations of the creative mind between

existing ideas or concepts. Creativity is fueled by the process of either

conscious or unconscious insight. An alternative conception of creativeness

is that it is simply the act of making something new. From a scientific point

of view, the products of creative thought (sometimes referred to as

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divergent thought) are usually considered to have both originality and

appropriateness. Although intuitively a simple phenomenon, creativity is in

fact quite complex. It has been studied from the perspectives of behavioral

psychology, social psychology, psychometrics, cognitive science, artificial

intelligence, philosophy, history, economics, design research, business and

management among others. The studies have covered everyday creativity,

exceptional creativity and even artificial creativity.

Unlike many phenomena in science, there is no single, authoritative

perspective or definition of creativity. Unlike many phenomena in

psychology, there is no standardized measurement technique. Many say it

can be taught with the application of simple techniques.

Creativity has been associated with right or forehead brain activity,

specifically with lateral thinking. This type of thinking is a term used to

describe the solution of problems through an indirect and creative

approach. Lateral thinking is about reasoning that is not immediately

obvious and about ideas that may not be obtainable by using only

traditional step-by-step logic. Some students of creativity have even

emphasized an element of chance in the creative process.

Another adequate definition of creativity is that it is an "assumptions-

breaking process." Creative ideas are often generated when one discards

preconceived assumptions and attempts a new approach or method that

might seem to others unthinkable. It is hoped that the art exercises in this

manual will help the student discard preconceived ideas about how a

particular piece can be approached.

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5 STAGES OF CREATIVE INSIGHTS

Creative insights and illuminations may be explained by a process

consisting of 5 stages:

Preparation

Preparatory work on a problem that focuses the mind on the

problem.

Incubation

Where the problem is internalized into the unconscious mind

and nothing appears externally to be happening,

Intimation

The creative person gets a 'feeling' that a solution is on its way,

Illumination

Or insight, where the creative idea bursts forth from its

preconscious processing into conscious awareness.

Verification

Where the idea is consciously verified, elaborated, and then

applied-In this case during the art exercises presented in this

manual.

There are various creative techniques proposed by the experts in this field.

These include:

1. Establishing purpose and intent.

2. Building basic skills

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3. Encouraging acquisitions of domain-specific knowledge

4. Stimulating and rewarding curiosity and exploration

5. Building motivation, especially internal motivation

6. Encouraging confidence and a willingness to take risks

7. Focusing on mastery and self-competition

8. Promoting supportable beliefs about creativity

9.Teaching techniques and strategies for facilitating creative

performance

Some see the conventional system of schooling as “stifling” of creativity.

One must have artistic knowledge, however, to best present their own

stamp on their individual pieces. Often these are better understood by the

adolescents when work included in the classroom speaks more directly and

relates to the student. This hopefully will inspire the student to acquire a

critical eye as well as practice the techniques and rules in drawing.

The decision, for example, to deviate from accurate perspective can be a

meaningful one-a freshness of ideas-if the young artist can first understand

the principles of perspective. There is no way an artist can convey what he

or she wishes to convey without the adequate tools and teaching instruction

at hand. Thus, it is the perspective of this manual to only present exercises

designed to augment required course material in line with California

Standards as well as promoting self-expression when completing required

projects.

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How do we do this? Various components in the exercises promoting self

expression are presented as follows. A review and introduction to important

works will be presented, hopefully increasing the understanding the critical

areas of critique, and analysis along with instruction of the various

techniques used in each body of work.

Exercises aimed at promoting creativity will then be presented. The student

will be encouraged to translate his or her feelings into writing about the

piece of work that represents him or her.

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The Purpose of Art

In pondering the definition of Art one really needs to understand that art is a

communication. Let us first look at art as a personal function. We need to

ask what the artist is trying to convey. This brings us to the purpose of art.

Many, in fact, most artists create art in order to express personal feelings.

It is my belief that many visual people use art as a way of pictorially putting

a feeling outside themselves. Words are then found to describe and explain

the piece that he or she created. This results in a better understanding of

their feelings.

Studying the lives of artists will help the viewer understand the painting and

might even give the viewer a greater understanding of him or herself by

noticing how he or she relates to the particular piece. For example,

imparting information about the lives of both Frida Kahlo and Edvard

Munch will readily give the student a good example of how art is used as

personal communication.

Art is also a social function. Who better to study then Pieter Brugel? I have

a feeling that (at least the adolescent girls) students will be fascinated by

The Wedding Banquet. You might want to ask the student “Where is the

groom?” The picture tells us much about the villagers portrayed. The

emphasis is on food rather than the religious ceremony of matrimony.

What does this say about the time period?

It is known of course that Brugel was a master painter. The world of his art

is the country in which he lived; its landscapes and its people-and of these

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people, their typical activities, their ever recurrent sufferings and joys, their

ancient traditions and their customs and follies.

As a social function we also might look at more contemporary art. In the

Los Angeles area there are many murals representing the community and

cultures. It is interesting to note that one of the first murals painted at the

East Los Angeles State Service Center was initiated to prevent gang graffiti

by soliciting the gang taggers to paint a mural in order to avoid more

defacing of The State Service Center building. From this experiment

emerged a number of murals in the East Los Angeles area depicting

community life. One can go to the web site and view East Los

Streetscapers among other murals.

Website: http://www.grconnect.com/murals/html/pg12339.html

Turning to art as a spiritual function the student might want to look at the

prehistoric cave paintings of animals along with the more traditional forms

of spiritual art. It is speculated that many artists create their art to express

spiritual beliefs about the destiny of life controlled by the force of a higher

power. We might ask if this is why the cave painters depicted these

animals.

There are physical functions of art abound in the Los Angeles Area-the

Disney Concert Hall which can be viewed at as well as the relatively new

Lady of Angels Church.

Website: http://www.e.n.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall

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The Educational function of art in todayʼs modern world is often created to

provide visual instruction such as those we see in ads or public service

signs. However, one can view Guernica by Picasso which depicts the

bombing of Guernica, Spain during the Spanish Civil War. This gives us a

perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war and increases our understanding

of the necessity of an embodiment of peace. Some of the same can be said

for Diego Rivera who gives us a similar perspective from a different

country.

Two more contemporary, but controversial artists: Banksy and Masami

Teraoka present much of their artwork as a way of influencing and

educating the viewer. At this point I want to introduce Banksy. It should be

mentioned that he carefully manages to keep his real name from the

mainstream media. However, many newspapers assert that his real name

is Robert or Robin Banks.

Banksy, despite not calling himself an artist, has been considered by some

as talented in that respect; he uses his original street art form, often in

combination with a distinctive stenciling technique, to promote alternative

aspects of politics from those promoted by the mainstream media. Some

believe that his stenciled graffiti provides a voice for those living in urban

environments that could not otherwise express themselves, and that his

work is also something which improves the aesthetic quality of urban

surroundings.

Website: http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/banksy/Banksy-last-graffiti-before-

motorway.htm

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Masami Teraoka is another well-known contemporary California artist who

has attempted to educate the public regarding the environment, the

overabundance of commercialism as well as the ramifications of AIDS. One

can view 31 Flavors Invading Japan which educates the viewer about the

cultural impact of worldwide commercialism promoted by large industries.

Website: http://www.theartatjapan.com/artdetail.asp?Inv:09071376

After a review of art as communication it is suggested that exercises

designed to enhance expressing feelings through art be presented.

ART AS COMMUNICATION EXERCISES

Art as a personal statement

Materials: Craypas, oil chalks, acrylics or pastels, large paper

Instructions: Draw an outline of a face-circular, triangular, square or oval

taking up approximately two-thirds of the paper. Think of one emotion to

convey-anger, calmness, joy, excitement etc. Draw in features then use

color to emphasize the expressions you wish to convey. Add color to as

much as possible on your rendering including the background.

Write about this exercise in the first person, for example, “I have brilliant

hair that twists and turns. My eyes are wide open. They are blue and

intense. I am wearing much jewelry and am surrounded by the stars and

nighttime sky. The emotion I am feeling is excitement.” For students who

are drawing only, this exercise may be done with an art pencil instead and

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instructed to elaborate the features and background as much as possible.

The student will also write about this exercise in the first person only.

Art as a Social Function:

Materials: oil chalks, acrylics or pastels, large paper

Instructions: Think of the last personal interaction you had in your home

school or community. Quickly sketch in figures of the people present at this

interaction and sketch stick type figures or symbols of people if you wish.

Color the figure standing for yourself that expresses your mood in this

interaction. Write a description of the type of interaction. How did you feel?

Why did you color the figure of yourself the way you did? Describe the

others in the interaction. How did you feel about them?

For students who are drawing only, this exercise may be done with an art

pencil instead and the student instructed to elaborate the interaction and

background as much as possible. Write a description of the type of

interaction. How did you feel? Why did you sketch the figure of yourself in

the particular position you chose? Describe the others in the interaction.

How did you feel about them?

Another Communication Exercise

Materials: oil chalks or pen, large paper, magazines and photos

Instructions: Think of a symbol that represents how you feel about your

place in the universe. This symbol can be abstract or realistic. Place your

symbol in the center of the paper. Color your symbol if possible. Surround

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this symbol with photos, or pictures you find in magazines of those people

or objects that inspire you. Write about your symbol. What does it represent

to you? Discuss those people or objects that inspire you. Why are they

important to you?

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The Element of Line

The student must be educated the about the kinds of line and understand

that line is an element of art that is the path of a moving point through

space. There are often lines that describe the darkness or lightness of an

object. There are also implied lines that consist of series of points that the

viewerʼs eyes automatically connect.

At this point after analyzing how lines are used in the works of varying

artists, such as Matisse and his beautiful paintings, you will see horizontal

lines, vertical lines, bold lines, curvy lines and almost any other line that

you can imagine, but not specifically notice at first. Your eyes are drawn to

all of the key points of Matisseʼs paintings. This brings us to the expressive

qualities of line. We know that curvy lines express activity and curved lines

are used to create decoration and luxury.

Website: http://en.wikipedia.orgHerni_Matisse

On other sites such as www.virtualfreesites.com/museumshtml, we can see

many works of art using different types of lines as a prominent feature.

Contour drawing might be introduced at this time. In fact starting each class

with a brief contour drawing that one simply throws away might be a good

exercise to help the artist loosen up and release the tension in his or her

body. I often am awed by the looseness of some paintings. The lines and

color seem to flow on the page and take up just the right amount of space.

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I imagine that if one wants to perform without tightness or tension, it is

important to let your pen, pencil or brush just flow. I have often thought that

musicians practice scales and brief exercises before performing for just this

very reason. I wonder why more artists do not have the habit of completing

brief contour paintings before working on a chosen piece.

I am always reminded by a story I read about Arthur Rubenstein. He only

practiced bits and pieces of works that he intended to perform live. He

claimed the practice of never practicing the whole concert kept him fresh

and able to really match his skill with his creativity. This way his music

stayed creatively alive. I think that it is so important for the artist to rid him

or herself of the critique that we all carry.

This is particularly difficult for adolescents. We know that the only “right” in

contour drawing is keeping the steady unbroken line moving and not

looking at the drawing. This very exercise gives practice in ignoring the

critic inside him or herself.

LINE EXERCISES

I realize that different technical exercises need to be presented to the

student in order for the student to have a good understanding of types of

lines and the place line plays in various works of art. My feeling is to also

suggest to the teacher to introduce some exercises that demonstrate the

power of lines. The first exercise is for the student to draw a line of his or

her choice and then to practice describing it in the first person.

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Material: Pen or pencil (chose any color you wish) 8” X 11” piece of white

paper.

Instruction: Draw any kind of line you want on the piece of paper. In fact

draw your favorite kind of line. It can be curvy or straight, go in any direction

or even reverse it self. It can be simple or complex. Describe your line in

the first person. Example: “I am curvy at first, but then straighten-out, I also

start out thin, but after a while become bold. I have a neutral color and look

somewhat interesting anyway.”

My second exercise is designed to demonstrate the power of line to both

the artist and the observer. Students will work in pairs and in silence.

Materials: Various pens or markers, large piece of news print. The teacher

is to place students in pairs and instruct them not to talk to each other.

Instructions: Each student is chose a marker, pen or pencil in a color they

wish to draw with. Each student will be instructed to place his or her

drawing instrument on a spot on the paper where he or she feels

comfortable. Then the two partners will begin drawing lines. There are no

rules except that the lines must be continuous. They can be thick, thin,

curvy, cross their partnerʼs or not. The facilitator should stop this exercise

when all students appear complete. The students are then asked to

describe this experience. This description can be written and if the student

feels comfortable read to the class. Was this experience a good one for the

student? Did he or she feel his or her own line was respected by his

partner? Did he or she feel comfortable about his or individual line?

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NOTE TO FACILITATOR: Often a student will cross anotherʼs line and this causes discomfort to his or her partner. Conversely the student may try to do every thing to avoid his partnerʼs line. I think this exercise demonstrates clearly the power of lines. This might be pointed out to the student.

A final exercise is a contour approach with the studentʼs drawing tool to

be mainly used in a continuous pattern. I might suggest that while

completing this exercise the student use a modified contour technique

where he or she occasionally glances at his or her drawing and modifies it,

lifting his or her pencil if the drawing runs off course. The student needs to

lift the pencil to where he or she feels the drawing should be continued.

Occasional erasing and touching up afterward is fine.

Materials: Drawing pencil and blank paper

Instructions: Imagine a scene from the past. Tapping into your

imagination, use a contour approach to draw the scene. This scene must

include yourself or others-perhaps family or friends. Use a contour

approach in drawing what you remember. After completion, ask yourself

what this scene feels like to you?

At this point the works and life of Benny Andrews might be presented. He

was a remarkable African-American artist whose bibliography can be found

on Wikipedia. Further his work titled Preacher is a good example of his use

of modified contour before he perfected his final piece.

Website: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/ngelArticle.jsp?id=h-1042

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Shape, Form and Space

Each object in the world has form or depth. Art elements such as shape,

form and space are closely related to each other. First, the student needs

to understand that shape is a two-dimensional area that is defined in some

manner. A shape may have an outline or boundary around it.

You may also recognize the shape of an object by the area around it.

Shapes are classified as geometric or free form. Free form shapes are

defined as irregular and uneven shapes. Their boundaries may be curved,

angular or a combination of both.

Not all shapes are naturally occurring organic objects although snowflakes

and soap bubbles are among many geometric forms found in nature. There

are some other terms commonly used to describe form and shape in

composition; these have to do with what kind of representations the forms

have. If we can recognize every day objects and environments, we refer to

the images as being realistic, or naturalistic.

However, if the images are difficult or impossible to identify in terms of our

normal, daily visual experience, we may refer to the images as abstract.

There are several kinds of abstract images.

Generally, abstractions are "abstracted" or derived from realistic images-

perhaps even distorted, but in such a way that the source is not

immediately apparent. An example of this would be one of Georgia

O'keefe's paintings of a detail from a flower. This kind of abstraction in art is

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sometimes referred to as an objective image-that is, it is derived from an

actual object.

On the other hand, some abstract art images are based on a pure study of

form, line, and color, and do not refer to any real-world object or scene.

These types of art works are sometimes referred to as non-objective

images.

Caricature is a special instance of abstraction, in which realistic images are

distorted to make a statement about the people, places, or objects

portrayed. This is probably the kind of abstraction we are most familiar with,

as it is constantly presented to us via all sorts of popular media.

However, it is important to remember that had not the more-difficult-to-

understand conventions of abstraction in the fine arts broken ground with

experiments in distortion, we would not be able to make sense out of some

caricature images. A century ago, there was really nothing equivalent to our

modern caricature.

After a presentation of this subject some creative exercises could be

presented. In particular I like use scribble drawings. The young artist is free

to use his or her imagination completely.

SHAPE EXERCISES

Materials: A large piece of news print, art pencil, oil chalks

Instructions: Using a black oil chalk, scribble over the entire sheet of

paper. Then you need to spend some time looking at your scribble drawing.

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Look carefully at your paper and see if you can find objects or faces in your

drawing. Use to use a full range of colors of your choice to fill in the objects

or faces with which you identify. Find as many possible shapes to fill in with

several shapes to complete one object.

Upon completion of the exercise the student is to write down what his

drawing means to him or her. How does he or she feel about this exercise?

For students who are drawing only, this exercise may be done with an art

pencil instead and the student instructed to fill in shapes with varying

intensity of graphite so that faces and/shapes are recognizable. Written

section remains the same.

A second exercise I might present is to ask the student to take a black

and white photograph of him or herself. This photograph should be as

expressive as possible. Taking this photo in a darkened room will enable

the artist to achieve dramatic contrast. Experimentation with angling the

light will help achieve the desired contrast. An alternative to this exercise

for those students not involved in photography is to bring in a photo of

themselves which is expressive in some manner.

Materials: A black and white self-portrait taken by the student or bring a

preferably black and white photo of him or herself that is expressive.

Instructions: Write about how lighting affects the expressiveness of your

photo. Do you see shapes in the photograph? Is this a “true “picture” of who

you are? Why? Why not? What expressions do you see in the photo?

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Hue, Value and Intensity

Color is actually the most expressive element of art. For the purpose of this

manual, understanding the nature and uses of color will be emphasized,

especially since artists use color to express ideas and emotions. It must be

understood that the pigment, the binder, the solvent and the surface to

which the paint adheres all affect the color one uses.

When artists use colors to express feelings they usually ignore the actual

real life colors of the objects that they are painting. Thus, arbitrary color is

used-color that affects and expresses feelings. The placement of a

particular color can denote depth and a sense of movement. A wonderful

example of the use of color to express feelings and emotions can be seen

in the works of Franz Marc. In fact he had his own personal theory of art,

which included a theory of color symbolism. For example in his painting

Yellow Cow he used the color yellow to depict gentleness.

Website:

http://wwwibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/masc/ .

It might be interesting for the art student to draw an outline of a facial profile

and color it with colors that have personal meaning for him or her. The self-

portraits of Van Gogh are certainly a good example of the use of this

technique.

Certainly color does play a significant role in expressing emotion. Bright

colors often express excitement, while duller or darker ones can express

relaxation, depression, sleepiness, or other low-key emotions. Contrast can

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also express emotion. A painting that uses shades of color in the same

spectrum will have a different emotional tone than a painting that uses hues

from different spectra.

Throughout history color has always been associated with the emotions

found in humans. According to Terwogt and Hoeksma we often hear a

person described as green with envy or feeling blue. Other people are

described as viewing the world through rose-colored spectacles. We have

sometimes heard individuals be seen as purple with fury rather than just

state the biological fact that humans perceive color as trichromatic.

Two renowned researchers, Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz,

contributed to the trichromatic theory of color vision. The theory began

when Thomas Young proposed that color vision results from the actions of

three different receptors and that these colors can be influenced in

laboratory or internal environments by brightness and saturation. Most

researchers also believe that color is perceived not only biologically, but

emotionally, and can instigate actual physiological reaction patterns within

us.

These emotions, which are triggered by reactions to certain colors, are

almost certainly based on emotions, which occurred during similar

circumstances when previous exposure to the color occurred. The

perception of color is a highly subjective experience, which is greatly

influenced by past events and connections between colors and seemingly

unrelated stimuli. Humans are seen as passive recipients of the multiple

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stimuli, which accompany the introduction of the humans to color according

to Schachtel.

The works of Mondrian may be of particular interest to the student.

Mondrian constructed lines and color combination on a flat surface that he

stated was in order to express beauty. He was inspired by nature and has

informed his future viewers that while contemplating nature he felt great

emotion. His goal was to express this in the simplest possible manner.

Mondrian was thus led to abstraction.

COLOR EXERCISES

Material: Blank piece of paper or canvas; You will also need several

different colored markers, crayons, pens, and colored pencils.

Instructions: Now think about your feelings, and use these imagining a

single shape or image. Find a spot in the middle of the page and draw this

image using a black marker.

Now color in this image using your other tools. Add as much or as little

details as you like to this image, and keep in mind what it is associated

with. You can use simple symbols like hearts, clouds, stars, or whatever

you feel is appropriate. Next draw a few long black lines coming from the

image out to the sides of the paper. Fill in images at the end of each line

and color them in. Feel free to add multiple images to each line if you like.

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Write about your symbol and how you felt putting this symbol on paper.

What do the colors you chose mean to you? How do you feel about

completing this exercise?

Another exercise involves the use of geometric shapes combined with

writing a personal statement.

Materials: Canvas or art paper. Acrylics including black, permanent black

art pen and pencil.

Instructions: Concentrate on canvas and divide into several random

horizontal, diagonal and vertical lines using a light lead pencil. Chose

several colors that appeal to you and color in all geomantic figures.

Outline all borders of the painting in black acrylic. When completed use

marker to draw any designs or objects that have particular meaning to you.

Write across the face of painting any personal statements that you wish.

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Mood Painting

One of the purposes of this manual is for the artist to capture the essence

of a mood. What kind of mood is up to the student and could well be

influenced by what season the student currently finds him or herself in

according to several experts.

If the student is in the northern hemisphere the student may find him or

herself in mid-summer, while in the southern it may be mid-winter. It could

be happiness, in a state of laughter, sleepiness, envy, jealousy,

depression, sadness, anger or frustration. A painting does not need to

include a figure or a face. A student needs to know how colors convey

moods - what color is the studentʼs, most comfortable color? Does he or

she wear dark clothes on dull rainy days or bright colors to try and feel

better about the day?

The student also needs to think also about texture and brush strokes, and

how these convey mood. A heavy impasto work has quite a different feel to

a work done in smooth washes or glazes. A painting knife could be used to

apply paint heavily and to slash at the paint.

Here are a few ideas for the student, but really it should reflect the mood

he or she is in when the painting is started, or an intense one that he or she

can recall clearly:

• The happiness you feel when you are around a close friend.

• An abstract using bright, cheerful colors to reflect a day when

everything goes right.

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• An abstract using dark colors to reflect a bad day.

• A passionate monochromatic painting using only reds. Or green, the

traditional color of jealousy.

• A self-portrait showing how you feel about yourself or how you think

others perceive.

An exercise is presented that will help the student create a painting that

illustrates the mood of an event or experience in his or her life. He or she

will create visual solutions by elaborating on his or her individual

experiences. The event or experience can be happy or sad.

The colors used can are up to the student: They can be either bright and

with high intensity to represent happy times or dull and low intensity for sad

times. Figures and objects in the paintings should be stylized in the sense

that they can be easily identified, but simple.

MOOD EXERCISE

Materials: Watercolors, watercolor paper, stiff drawing board, scrapes of

paper, large, medium, and small bristled water color brush.

Instructions: Use watercolors and sheets of scrape paper. Practice mixing

complementary colors to create low-intensity and high-intensity colors.

After brainstorming about a happy or sad event, think about objects that

you associate with this event. Sketch several simple representations of

these objects.

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Look at your sample colors on the scrapes of paper. Which colors best fit

the objects and the mood you are trying to communicate? Tape a piece of

heavy water color paper to a stiff drawing board. Reproduce a simple

sketch of your best idea including all the objects and figures that belong

with the idea onto your paper. Begin painting using the colors you have

chosen to express your mood. Complete this exercise by writing a

paragraph describing the mood you wished to convey and describe how the

objects or figures you incorporated into the painting relate to the event you

are representing.

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Texture

At his point I will present some basic information about texture and the

manner that texture can be used in painting. Our minds are actually full of

texture memories.

We know that texture in painting is can be difficult to define. Texture refers

to more than to the roughness of smoothness of a work of art. It also refers

too the subtle gradations of surface difference. This is achieved by the

quality of the brushstrokes and also the addition of foreign element into the

work of art. When used carefully, it adds to the meaning and depth of an

artwork. On the other hand, if texture is used inharmoniously, then it can

become a negative.

It may be well worth to introduce Janet Fishʼs paintings. Her portrayal of

texture is phenomenal. Often she uses pastels in order to create shiny-

smooth, matte–smooth, matte-rough and shiny-rough all in one piece.

Website: http://www.artnet.com/artist/6229/janet-fish.html

It should be noted that instead of depending on visual texture, many artists

such as van Gogh use thick paint with swirling brushstrokes to create a

rough surface. The surfaces painted on in this manner, makes the paint

appear brighter. This is because the surfaces of the ridges actually catch

more light and reflect brighter colors to the viewer.

The way in which you paint, thus, involves texture. For example, if your

strokes are gentle and smooth the overall texture if the painting will be

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smooth and even. Painting in a more "expressionistic" fashion, with broad

and impulse strokes, creates a different texture that is rougher and more

dynamic to the eye. A good painting will involve both these extremes.

The student might want to take a spare canvas and use this as an area on

which to practice. Try different brushstrokes using varying amounts of

paint. It is a good idea to build up a reference library of different textural

effects. It is also obvious, but important to note that the surface that you

use becomes an important factor in the creation of texture.

TEXTURE EXERCISE

The following exercise is somewhat more complex than the others

presented in this manual. However, it is well worth while as the student will

have the opportunity to learn how to reproduce his or her particular work

with out expensive printing materials. This exercise will produce a self-

portrait in collagragh form. Hopefully, materials can be found in a

secondary art class. Again, this exercise is well worth the effort

Materials: Heavy cardboard, variety of textured material, scissors, gloss

medium or latex paint, printing paper-white, water based printing ink, tray

and brayers, printing press, paper towels and glue.

Instructions: Sketch a self-portrait. Using a strong light source will produce

contrasting areas of light and dark. Outline dark and light areas with a pen.

Transfer your drawing to a heavy cardboard. This will be your printing plate.

I always use tracing and one-sided graphite paper. Choose two materials

with different textures. Assign one texture to the dark areas and one to the

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light. Cut pieces of the respective materials the shape and size of each

area and affix to the printing plate.

Next, waterproof the printing plate by covering it with gloss medium or latex

paint. Choose paper for your print and a color. Soak your paper in water.

Use paper towels to squeeze out all excess water. Pour ink into a tray and

roll the brayer through the ink to coat it. Apply the ink to the plate surface

you want to print. Place this plate on the press. Place dampened paper

over the printing plate. Put dry towels over the paper and run layers through

the press.

After print dries write a paragraph about yourself. What kind of person do

you see in your print? How do you think others see you?

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Rhythm and Movement

In order to convey feelings and ideas artists use rhythm. Rhythm can be

monotonous. It can be predictable and comforting or it can be symbolic. It

creates visual movement, which is the principle of art used to create the

look and feeling of action and to guide the viewerʼs eyes throughout the

work of art.

There are several types of rhythm. Some rhythm is random. It appears to

have no order. For example, if one were to paint or draw crowds of people,

every person would have individual space around him or her. Other

rhythms are quite regular, such as a picture of a display of some sort.

However, there is also flowing rhythm that is created in a simple form by

wavy lines. Examples of flowing rhythm in art pieces might include

paintings of rolling hills or ocean waves.

Jacob Lawrence, a notable African-American artist, whose paintings have a

story-like quality appears to use a gesture technique to express movement

in his pieces. Many of his pieces encompassed dancing girls.

Website: http://whitney.org/jacoblawrence/art/education.html

RHYTHM AND MOVEMENT EXERCISES

A presentation and exercise in action drawing will assist the student to

better express his or her ideas and feelings.

Materials: Drawing pen, acrylic paint, canvas

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Instructions: You are going to try to capture the action various figures are

performing. A likeness or correct proportions are not important in this

exercise. You are going to identify the action the figure is doing, with his/her

body. Individual body parts are not important here - only the curve or

direction of the main bodily movement. Try to FEEL the line of movement,

the fullness of the curves. (Have several students take an action pose like

running or throwing a ball).

Imagine a central wire going inside the figure from the tips of the fingers in

the air to the bottom of the ankle. This is the action line you are seeking -

and you want to do this quickly, in a matter of seconds. Once you have

drawn the central axis of the figure, go back and circulate around and

through the figure, to define the secondary movements, like the arms, hips

and legs.

The second step is to cut the figures out leaving space around your figure

and following the lines of the figure. Arrange several shapes on watercolor

paper, emphasizing a flowing rhythmic movement. Trace around these

shapes. Paint these figures. Paint the background with a color scheme that

will contrast harmoniously. When you are finished write about the mood

your work expresses. How so you feel about your representations of the

figures? Can you relate or not to the mood of the painting?

For students who are drawing only, this exercise may be done with an art

pencil instead and the artist instructed to elaborate the figures and

background as much as possible. The student will also write about this

exercise in the first person only.

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Visual Balance

When one speaks of balance in art, one is describing the distribution of

“weight” or activity in a composition. First, we can turn to symmetrical

balance, which is the exact of even balance along a centerline or axis. One

does this by using radical symmetry; rotating around a center point. Exact

symmetry is a mirror image or an exactly repeated design and axial

symmetry is having two opposing repeats, one on each side of the center

point.

However, there is also asymmetrical balance that is not exact, but

counterbalanced with contrasts, such as dull and bright colors, dark with

light values, geometric with organic shapes, active and inactive areas.

Conversely we can have approximate symmetry where the overall

organization in which an “even” placement of color and form is represented.

The final type of balance is called “occult”. In this case the background is a

very dominant feature.

If visual balance creates a feeling that the elements have been arranged

just right, visual imbalance creates the opposite feeling. In fact it causes a

feeling of uneasiness. In visual arts the feeling of balance must be seen.

There are several types of balance. The most common type of balance for

the student is formal balance. In this type of balance there is a central axis

where the same or similar objects are placed on the opposite side of the

center of the art piece. Similar to this is radical balance, except the center

focal point appears to pop out or radiate from a central point in the picture.

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The most interesting type of balance is informal balance. Informal balance

is the balance on opposite sides of a point, by one or more elements that

are different or contrasting elements. Let's say we had a picture of a child

playing with some blocks. If you fold the picture in the middle, on the one

hand, you would only focus on the baby, but on the other side it would be

confined to the blocks.

Here you have two completely different things that do not look even

remotely the same, but that's okay. Informal balance is less obvious

because their subjects are often not uniform. They, in fact, vary

considerably. There is nothing wrong with that, because there is more to

the viewer to appreciate.

Balance is also influenced by size and contour. Obviously a large form will

appear heavier than a small form. Thus, several small forms can balance

one large form. Color also influences balance in an art piece. A high

intensity color has more visual appearing weight. Therefore, a large area of

a dull color can be balanced by a small area of a high intensity color. You

might want to view the works of Emily Carr who beautifully illustrates the

use of informal balance.

Website: http://www.bertc.com/subtwo/g102/index.htm

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BALANCE EXERCISE

Materials: Drawing paper, pen or pencil, acrylic paint.

Instructions: Draw on your creativity to design five favorite objects of your

choice that exhibit informal balance, using the definition of informal balance

as the balance on opposite sides of a point, by one or more elements that

are different or contrasting elements.

Use elements of color, shape, size and/or intensity of the medium to

informally balance these objects. Describe the objects in you drawing.

What do they mean to you? How do you feel about the objects you

completed in this exercise? What does the way you placed your objects

mean to you? Does your composition feel comfortable to you? Why or why

not?

For students who are drawing only, this exercise may be completed with an

art pencil, elaborating the objects with intensity and size. The student will

answer the questions as stated above.

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Proportion

Proportion is the primary concern of how each part of a work of art relates

to the other part. One needs to look at several aspects of proportion. If we

look at scale in a work of art, we notice size as measured against a

standard reference. For example, the famous statue of David by

Michelangelo inspires awe when first viewed. It stands thirteen feet, five

inches.

As one looks around the gallery hall, the difference between the statue and

the size of the average person in the audience is stunning. The size of

David coupled with his muscular body conveys a tension with gathering

power, in spite of the relaxed pose. There is a feeling of energy in reserve.

There are kinds of proportions however different than size. We know that

many artists use correct proportions in their pieces in order for their

subjects to be recognizable. However, many other artists use exaggeration

and distortion to express works with unusual expressive qualities. By the

use of exaggeration and distortion the artist has tapped into a powerful

means of expression. Thus, moods and feelings can easily be understood

by the viewer.

Well-known examples of this can be seen in the works of Marc Chagall. His

figures fly and bend in an impossible manner. Hands and heads are either

too small or too large and painted unusual colors. His paintings are

whimsical and riveting.

Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall

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It is the opinion of this writer that the use of distortion is used most

effectively when the young artist has had practice with traditional art skills.

However, to the use of creative art exercises the adolescent will learn to tap

into his or her creativity and in the future be more able to incorporate the art

of distortion into his or her completed art works.

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Some Final Thoughts…

As I reached the conclusion of this manual, I realized I ended it with a

discussion about an area I began to use as I was becoming more involved

with my artwork. It was through the use of my own experience with creative

art exercises that I was able to merge these experiences with a more

traditional art background. I finished this manual addressing the area of

distortion. In order to truly express myself I have attempted to use distortion

to more fully convey a personal statement.

What personally emerges for me in completing creative art exercises is a

recurring theme of an ominous background of some sort coupled with a

figure of a person surviving in spite of his or her vulnerability. Most of the

art exercises that I complete contain this theme in some form. I have used

these exercises as the basis for more fully developed paintings.

Upon further contemplation I realized that I have drawn heavily on the

experiences in my own life. I do believe that the gift of life is to be treasured

and striven for with all of one's strength even in the most vulnerable of

times. Often I have turned to painting angels weathering the environment. I

have included a painting in this manual of one of my angels sitting on a tree

branch weathering the storm.

I do hope that your students learn to value their owe uniqueness and find

their own themes.

~Marilyn Palmer