Artist of the Week: Drawing From Memory

twin artists
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week we get a double dose of artists.

Max and Rebecca both had art works selected for the school district's big arts and sciences show. Which is a pretty big deal, space is very limited and the art teachers try to pick the best of the various projects across the grades. Not every kid gets to be included during their academic career.

So you can imagine our delight when we got invites for both Max and Rebecca. The show is open to the public, the invites are given out to the children whose works have been selected, thus insuring that the parents are aware and motivated to come. I know most years we don't bother since our weekends are so jam packed with sports. This year, however we made the effort to attend.

Max's drawing from memory
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

First up is Max's piece.

The assignment was to draw something from memory. The memory Max chose to draw is described below the picture in a short paragraph:

I was watching TV but then I heard Nate. I looked outside the front door. I saw Jan and Dell with a turtle.

From what I've gathered the turtle spotting occurred around sunset. You can see Max standing by the front stoop under a very colorful sky. It's a very bold picture, especially for Max. I like that for once Max has filled up the whole sheet of picture and it's not with his usually teeny tiny figures. It is a very compelling drawing and I can see why it was included in the show.

Last, but not least is Rebecca's contribution to the show.

Rebecca's drawing from memory
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

The teacher in charge of displaying the artworks placed Miss Rebecca's picture roughly adjacent to Max's creation. It is common knowledge around the school that Max and Rebecca are twins so she felt that it was only right that their pictures be near each other. I liked it because I could get both the artists and their respective works in the same picture.

Anyhoodle, Rebecca also drew a picture from memory. Her picture was about our summer vacation:

Last summer I went to my family's beach house. I was happy to go there. I had a lot of fun. I found lots of shells. I also played in the water. I had a grate time!

Rebecca's art teacher is unaware of this, but this is a rather accurate rendition of the beach by my cousin's house. The beach is not on open water, instead we are nesteled in a bay with buildings clearly visible across the water. Rebecca also seems to have an intuitive grasp of the rule of thirds. She has placed herself in the lower third (Well really half. But the effect of sky, water, then sand makes it thirds.) of the picture on the sandy beach. I like her decision not to color the sky, instead just having a few clouds, the sun and some birds.

Stylistically Max and Rebecca's pictures are very different and I like the fact that they were free to interpret the assignment in their own ways.