Shaving Cream Christmas Trees

Directions
1. Use liquid watercolor and a substantial weight paper. Spray shaving cream directly on table in a triangle.
2. Smooth the triangle with a scraper and drip the watercolor on the shaving cream
3. Swirl colors with the back of a paint brush perfectly vertical and touching the table the whole time (less is more)
4. Put paper on the shaving cream and pay gently for about 30 seconds and then pull it off
5. Scrape off shaving cream to reveal the cool design stained on the paper!
6. Decorate tree and background with oil pastels for details and chalk pastels for the sky

Owl watercolor

Begin with a simple sketch of an owl. The eyes need to be an eye space apart. The beak starts in between the eyes.
Next cover the background of the owl with a very light value of color.
Next use different brushes to create the feathers with a slightly darker value of color. Refer to my video for more details. 
Next begin to add India ink for the eyebrows and around the eyes. The feathers on top of the head are small. Examine photos of owls to see the size, shape, and direction of the feathers. If the feathers are going in every direction it will look like a cactus.
Continue adding layers and layers of feathers using different brushes. White feathers can be added on top of dark colored feathers. Add a white shiny or a few to the beak. 

Watercolor Owl Lesson Video

Halloween kitties

2nd-4th grade is learning how to blend chalk pastels. We made these kitties with India ink and chalk pastels. 

Students created a unique artwork with a chalk sunset sky. We learned about which colors to blend and which ones not to blend based on color families. 

Brush control is a big focus this year and students had to flick the brush just right to get the hair to stick up in the cat.