Drawing & Painting I students just finished up their second acrylic painting project. They worked on mixed media paper and gridded their reference photo to enlarge the image first. Then using a variety of acrylic techniques, students worked to create a wide range of values and textures while focusing on the subtle changes in highlights and shadows.

Working with our contour line portraits, students are adding colors and adjusting to working on top of black gesso. The first things students notice is how bright the colors can appear when white is added and when they water down the pure hue they create subtle shadows and shades. Everyone's approach is different, some more expressive with color than others. Overall, a fun project to watch develop.

Congratulation to PHS senior, ChrissyI Chrissy was nominated for the Art Educator's of New Jersey High School Scholarship. After completing the application and submitting her visual arts portfolio she just found out that she was awarded the scholarship. Chrissy will be pursing a career in the visual arts upon graduation.

Special thanks to the AENJ for making great opportunities available for students who care deeply about the visual arts. It is so important for our students to see that there are professional organizations and people beyond our community that feel art is important and valuable.

Drawing & Painting II students are on to the next step in their contour line portraits. They began by using the blind contour drawing technique to draw one another. After completing a series of drawing students in class, students had the opportunity to draw friends and family outside of class to use for the project. Using either a single subject or a mash up of portraits, student worked on top of black gesso, using white lines, to create contour line portraits. Next up, adding the color and adjusting to the darker ground when painting.