Study #1 AJ and Ivette, Oil on Canvas, Spring 2024

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Study #1 AJ and Ivette, Oil on Canvas, Spring 2024
Ronkonkoma, 2024, acrylic on masonite. lyrics by Laundry Day.
On view through January 31st - February 28th 2026 at Greater Denton Arts Council in Denton, Texas.
sweet used to be, 2024, frit in kiln formed glass
inspired by the bargain stores in queens nyc.
Gouache Unit: Lesson #1 - Introduction to Gouache w/ Scott Christian Sava (Google Slides) (Google Docs)
Literally Everything I Know About Gouache Paint! - Youtube Video RollingStone The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Article
Lesson Plan Notes:
The traditional approach to watercolor uses the paper as the source of white in a painting, with color applied in thin veils. Some purists take this principle very seriously, even avoiding white paint altogether. Watercolor paint is used thinly and the sparkling paper underneath is an integral part of the painting. This technique allows artists to achieve great intensity and depth of color, while using a minimal amount of paint. The rough texture of watercolor paper enhances this effect, while breaking up surface tension and preventing paint from pooling and running excessively.
Gouache is often described as “opaque watercolor”, but while it shares basic ingredients and professional-grade pigment concentration with watercolors, gouache has its own set of unique properties and techniques that set it apart from its transparent cousin. Mixed with white directly on the palette, gouache is formulated for use in a combination of translucent and fully opaque techniques, applied in a range from thin washes to broad, thick layers. It has a shine-free, matte finish for a soft, substantial appearance with glowing color, especially in mid-tones and darks. A self-leveling, flat surface makes gouache a favorite of illustrators and graphic artists, for a finish free of reflections which could interfere with reproduction and photography. Many fine artists also appreciate this non-reflective surface, both for its attractive appearance and for displaying art without glare. (Dick Blick)
Once primarily for illustrators and designers, gouache has earned its place next to watercolor as a medium for fine art. Artists who work with gouache mix white paint directly with colors, usually from thin to thick. Because gouache quickly re-activates with water, layers tend to intermix, and darker colors will show through lighter ones. Some use this to their advantage, deliberately planning for lines to show through top layers. Others begin with lighter colors and work their way toward darks to prevent bleed-through. There’s also an acrylic-based version of gouache that doesn’t mix between layers, which can even be used on canvas.
My mentor teacher had an area where she displayed daily objectives, steps, and examples of the current unit. Bouncing off the past acrylic unit, I prepared a poster for students for gouache.
Students were able to use a range of surface materials to try gouache. Sticker paper, usps labels, and watercolor paper.
Student Examples: Album Covers Practice
Gouache Painting - Lesson Plan #2 Unit Assessment (Google Slide; Google Doc) Gouache Painting - Lesson Plan #3 Mini Lesson (Google Slide; Google Doc)
Why is the Blue Dog Blue? George Rodrigue - Lesson Plan (Google Slide)
Why is Blue Dog Blue? Read Aloud - Youtube Video George Rodrigue featured on CBS Sunday Morning News - Youtube Video
Student Examples:
Paul Klee's Cats - 2 day Lesson (Google Slide)
Lesson plan notes: Klee was one of the many modernist artists who wanted to practice what he called "the pure cultivation of the means" of painting—in other words, to use line, shape, and color for their own sake rather than to describe something visible. That priority freed him to create images dealing less with perception than with thought, so that the bird in this picture seems to fly not in front of the cat's forehead but inside it–the bird is literally on the cat's mind. Stressing this point by making the cat all head, Klee concentrates on thought, fantasy, appetite, the hungers of the brain. One of his aims as an artist, he said, was to "make secret visions visible." The cat is watchful, frighteningly so, but it is also calm, and Klee's palette too is calm, in a narrow range from tawny to rose with zones of bluish green. This and the suggestion of a child's drawing lighten the air. Believing that children were close to the sources of creativity, Klee was fascinated by their art, and evokes it here through simple lines and shapes: ovals for the cat's eyes and pupils (and, more loosely, for the bird's body), triangles for its ears and nose. And the tip of that nose is a red heart, a sign of the cat's desire. Paul Klee (1879-1940) was a Swiss-born German artist and one of the most important artists of the 20th century. Aside from being a very positive influence a teacher, father and husband, he was the first artist to call the drawings of children real creativity, years before the first books were written about this. Ask students what they think the bird in the middle might mean. Describe to them that the bird represents what the cat is thinking, or what’s “on its mind.” What other things might a cat think about? What do you think about this painting (Cat and Bird)? Does it make you laugh? Why? What is the cat’s head made of? Which shapes do you see? What colors did Klee use? Is there anything special about the relationship between these colors? What does it mean when colors are complimentary? Which colors in the color wheel are complimentary? Why do you think there is a bird in the middle of the cat’s head? What else do you think a cat can think about? The Cat and Bird Read Aloud - Youtube Video Art with Mati and Dada – Paul Klee - Youtube Video
Teacher Sample of Step by Step Activity:
Student Artwork:
Student Examples of a Call Back to History at I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA, Dr. Marcelo Cavazos Center for Visual & Performing Arts, and Martin High School.
Pink erasers mini printmaking activity with I.M Terrell VPA students in March 2024
Student Examples of the Gouache Unit in high school placement
Student Teaching Presentation
Required for 4100 Senior Exhibition
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas. Education Intern
Presentation and reflection for Summer Term 2024.
Identity and Symbolism - Introduction to Portrait Gelli Prints
Rationale for Content Area Reading and Writing (Summer 2024)
Australian Aboriginal Dot Art - Group presentation for Applying and Teaching Art Curricula.
Student Examples:
“A Contemporary Call Back Art History”
Lesson plan for Martin High School and Dr. Marcelo Cavazos Center for Visual & Performing Arts Students in Arlington, Texas. Students will compare and contrast “master works” and contemporary work.
Student Sample Work:
“You’re Not a Real New Yorker!” Risograph prints on paper, wheatpaste and tape on masonite board, 2025. 48 in x 55 in. 2025 BFA Exhibition at UT Arlington.
“You’re Not a Real New Yorker” Zine is an ongoing series of risograph prints conceived by the collection of memories, camera roll dumps, and receipts from New York and Texas. The title and idea were sparked from a conversation with a longtime friend and Brooklynite who explained what it takes to be a “real New Yorker”. The love for the city was reduced to disillusionment and remnants of new and past relationships. The risograph was first collaged digitally and then expanded beyond the 8.5 by 11 inches of the original. The print is then taped and glued together onto a panel to mimic the construction walls graffitied with posters and tags you can find in the city. The risograph printer creates slight variations in the ink and not each panel will line up perfectly to the next. The zine highlights many attempts to navigate authenticity and most importantly to never romanticize the Long Island Rail Road.
Lesson #3 Gouache Mini Lesson with Lucia Hierro
Youtube Video: Lucia Hierro Confronts Capitalism Through Her Art | Art in Color : Video Youtube Video: Appropriation In Art Explained (Updated)
Daily bell ringers made during my gouache unit.