Art Lesson with Gary Squares- Part 1

I recently taught a small group of young women how to paint pictures using the style of painting that I leaned from Gary and John Collins that I affectionately refer to as "Gary Squares."  To make the project simpler, and so it would fit in the time frame we had, I squared everything off into 16 squares instead of 36.  I was hopeful that they would turn out well and that the reduction in squares wouldn't affect the final outcome too much.  Good call, because it totally worked!  Check out their awesome work!



This is Bryn. She painted this awesome wave.  I love how she captured the movement of the water and used purple in the lower right hand corner.  It looks fantastic!

"Bryn's Wave" 12"x12" acrylic on canvas
by Bryn Koldewyn, 14 years old

This next piece was done by the Potts' family and was a collaborative effort between a mother and her two daughters.  They each worked on different parts of it, but the end result is very cohesive.  My favorite thing about this piece is the shadow of the boat and the way the colors blend from the red trim of the boat, all the way down to the sand.  I also really like the horizon line.  Even though the entire background is essentially all blue, there is no question as to where the water ends and the sky begins.  They opted out of posing in the picture, but here is the finished piece.  Love it!

"Potts' Boat" 12"x12" acrylic on canvas
by Members of the Potts Family

There were two more future artists in the group, but they are still working on their paintings.  I will post them once they are done.

As a side note, these artist's didn't name their own pieces, so the titles I've given are subject to change if they ever do so :).