Eyeballs Studied And Mouths Gave Their Report In High School Class by Karl Marxhausen

Art instructor Bruce Nail

Each student looks over their three painted panels carefully.

Students stand up and report their findings to the painting class.

Groups of two each compare a painted sketch to an original from a book.

One by one students approach a large study
and point out what the guest artist was trying to do.

A week ago Friday--Art Instructor Bruce Nail had me give a presentation to his Senior High Painting Class in Carrollton, Missouri. At first students were given painted outdoor studies to handle, examine and report on. They were asked to answer one question, "Do you think the piece was painted outdoor?" They could add anything else they suspected of the three pieces in their care. Some noted the material of the support. Some spoke of the dates on the back. Some took a guess what the subject of the painting was.

Following that exercise, in groups of two, they compared an acrylic study from my sketchbook next to the original Corot painting out of a book. They had to point out details that they thought matched what Corot had in his painting. They pointed to the rocks and trees and sky colors. Someone noted a figure and a goat I had left out.

Next, I explained how degrees of confidence are attained by doing one's "homework." The three kinds of reference materials that help me when I work include: 1) doing studies from art I admire, 2) working from my own photo files, and 3) combining color schemes I have seen others use with my own compostions. Then, I passed around my journals, which are filled with pictures I have cut out from subscription magazines. I pointed to areas from two paintings, "Water Hole" and "Across To The Bright Side," where I relied on reference materials to guide the mixing of particular colors.

Finally, the whole group was given a picture of Juliet Beer's work "A Vermont Summer" to pour over. A 38" x 24" study of mine was set on the classroom easel and, after a period of silence, students came up one by one, and pointed out areas they thought were influenced Beer's painting. They got it right. Patterns of light on dark and dark on light. They spotted each one. That all was covered in the forty minutes I was alloted. The teacher thanked me for coming, and asked me to come back next year.

(For this presentation I got special permission from my superiors in the Junior High wing. You see, my day job is helping students with their math and reading assignments. So, I was let go from my regular assignments just to speak to the seventh hour class.)

Just yesterday Mr. Nail told me that two of his students have "stepped up" to paint on larger panels. These panels are a good size, 18 x 24 inches. One student is enjoying doing large flower close-ups. The other student is doing a landscape with tree forms. He thought my presentation had opened up his students to go beyond their own expectations. What a cool thought.