What exactly is wildlife art with soul?

From ancient images of cave paintings
illustrating the raw energy and spirit of survival of a deer hunt, to the famous parable of Noah’s Ark, to modern day cartoons like the Lion King, animals in art are all around us and have been since ancient times.  Animal imagery appears to stir a basic link human beings have with the Earth and the creatures with which we share it.

Animal art with soul typically evokes a strong emotional effect and projects the true essence of the animal.  It is so much more than an exercise in photo-realism – it goes deeper than a photograph, to encapsulate the very spirit of the wildlife it portrays, it can transcend any artistic style and perhaps technical ability.  A beginner can produce animal art with soul equally as well as an experienced professional artist, especially when taking notice of the following five points common to the best wildlife paintings.

Living eyes.

Commonly referred to as the “windows to the soul”. They have to contain a glimpse of life and reveal a characteristic, mood or an identifiable reaction to a moment in the life of the animal subject.  Take a look at the cat artwork by talented artist Kat Davies to see illuminating examples of big cat eyes in her collection of tiger, leopard and lion art.

Colour and texture.

Re-create the texture of fur as exactly as possible to recreate the sense of soft, long, short, coarse, spiky, curly, or straight hairs.  Skin can be pink, black, green, blue, wrinkled or smooth, partially transparent where some light shows through, scaly and dry or moist like the rims around the eyes or the nose. Add the vital little signs of life!

An interesting background

The background can evoke drama, atmosphere and nostalgia.  For examples, study the excellent works of Robert Bateman to see how evocative natural backgrounds will improve your wildlife art and bring your animal subject to life.

The lighting

Dramatic lighting gives animation to work. Imagine sunlight filtering through the mane of a lion, or the cold reflected light on the flanks of a polar bear.  The cool hints of shadow and the warm tones of sunlight place your animal in the constantly changing cycle of nature from day to night, season to season and give a sense of changing climate, time and weather.

A story

A striking background will help a painting to ‘tell a story’.  Quite often the viewer of the painting can dream up an ending for themselves and actively engage with the painting. See the wildlife paintings of John Seerey-Lester, especially those of his historic hunts, to see story-telling in art.

Whether painting ‘cute and furry’ animals such as cubs, kittens and puppies, the vicious or romantic wild including the Big Five, animals in the field of sport or hunting, garden birds or maybe the cherished family pet portrait, remember that memorable animal art is animal art with soul.

If you would like to see stunning examples of animal art  then have a look at http://www.katdavies.com. There is an extensive collection of these and other works, and is particularly interesting if you are looking for portraits of your pet.

But there is a ordinarily a several strategy to see, a distinct solution to function along with a various strategy to compose a painting.  An abstract painting has no recognizable object in it to inform the viewer what the paintings subject is.  But the viewer can respond on the painting’s colors, shapes, and values and sense what the artist was looking to convey.  The viewer can think the mood on the painting–a mood that’s most successfully carried with color.  We don’t have to find out what a painting is if we know how it makes us think.

Abstract artists employ symbols to represent the distinct topic matter of their painting, but these symbols don’t have to be very easily identifiable and understandable. 

Nonetheless, not all abstract artists paint abstract art in identical way.  Some designers simplify their images. Other performers severely distort uncomplicated shapes.  Lastly, some designers limit the quantity of data they contain in their painting to a mere suggestion of their issue matter. Clearly, there is much more than 1 approach to paint abstract performs.  The options are vast.  Abstract painting is very difficult to perform and even harder to do well.

The variety with the abstract strategy is very broad. Every single abstract artist approaches painting in a several direction.  They’ve got to consult their inner self and therefore are entirely dependent on inside facts.  They invoke their inside feelings, intuition and imagination.  That’s why just about every abstract artist’s illustrations or photos are very diverse.

A viewer of abstract paintings might pass by just one painting inside a show and yet be caught up from the image of a different.  The viewer responds on the arrangement of a single paintings colour, line, shape, or texture above the other painting they’ve got just viewed.  They’re engaging from the energy of first-class abstraction.

But there is a ordinarily a several strategy to see, a distinct solution to function along with a various strategy to compose a painting.  An abstract painting has no recognizable object in it to inform the viewer what the paintings subject is.  But the viewer can respond on the painting’s colors, shapes, and values and sense what the artist was looking to convey.  The viewer can think the mood on the painting–a mood that’s most successfully carried with color.  We don’t have to find out what a painting is if we know how it makes us think.

Abstract artists employ symbols to represent the distinct topic matter of their painting, but these symbols don’t have to be very easily identifiable and understandable. 

Nonetheless, not all abstract artists paint abstract art in identical way.  Some designers simplify their images. Other performers severely distort uncomplicated shapes.  Lastly, some designers limit the quantity of data they contain in their painting to a mere suggestion of their issue matter. Clearly, there is much more than 1 approach to paint abstract performs.  The options are vast.  Abstract painting is very difficult to perform and even harder to do well.

The variety with the abstract strategy is very broad. Every single abstract artist approaches painting in a several direction.  They’ve got to consult their inner self and therefore are entirely dependent on inside facts.  They invoke their inside feelings, intuition and imagination.  That’s why just about every abstract artist’s illustrations or photos are very diverse.

A viewer of abstract paintings might pass by just one painting inside a show and yet be caught up from the image of a different.  The viewer responds on the arrangement of a single paintings colour, line, shape, or texture above the other painting they’ve got just viewed.  They’re engaging from the energy of first-class abstraction.

Whether a painting, a drawing, or sculpture designed by an artist, it falls under the category of visual graphic arts. These forms of art are not produced for commercial purposes, although they may be sold to collectors. Artists create their works to express themselves, to depict a scene or object, and practice their passion.

There are extensive subjects in art Painting has many subsections including watercolor and oil painting. These choices and the individual talent and craftsmanship that go into an individual painting are what make art unique. As talent and emotion collides, artists create captivating pieces of work that can move an audience.

The most common commercial use of visual graphic arts is in advertising. Each advert, poster, brochure and leaflet we see has been designed by someone with creative flair and artistic talent. Although the majority of work is done on a computer, the brainstorming and formation of ideas are formed on paper by talented artists. Print material utilizes photographs for news stories and forms of advertisement. Behind many advertisements is a great artist who’s work is not actually seen as art. The main focus of advertisement is to increase revenues of a business; as a result it is not seen as art. Painting commissioned portraits was a significant way to make a living early on that transitioned into making a career out of advertising.

Regardless your art career, it is important that it produces a legitimate income. You may not be able to express your emotion and personality through art, but you can find a career that compliments your expertise through commercial enterprise.

In answer to the question what are the visual graphic arts, the only accurate response is that it is any work that is produced with creativity and artistic talent. Graphic art has proven to be an excellent way to communicate to the general public through art. Whether computer-generated or hand drawn, the talent and skill that lies behind visual graphic art astonishes those who cannot put brush to paper or hand to mouse to create beautiful, though-provoking images.

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You know the value of your possessions and don’t let anything go to waste. Therefore, when your clothes wear out, you keep the remaining scraps and use them for making things like curtains and bed covers. The bed coverings made from those scraps are called quilts. The first quilt sets were laboriously hand sewn from small scraps of worn out clothes.

In order to make your quilts cozy and warm, you learn from your geese and ducks, who fluff their feathers to keep warm. You collect and save all the feathers and separate the coarse larger feathers from the fluffy white down. Little by little, you fill your quilt with them until it is filled with down and warm as toast. Oh, what a luxurious feeling!

Winters are long where you live and you have a lot of time on your hands, because you are indoors so much. To pass the time, you start making more decorative quilts from the brightest and best swatches of material you have. You fill these with your finest down. Because money is short, you take them to the market to sell.

One spring day, a wealthy matron notices your handiwork and compliments you on it. She asks you if you would make a quilt for her. She will supply you with the materials, because yours are too coarse for her. You are thrilled, because she offers to pay you well for your work.

While this may not be exactly the way the first luxury quilt set was sold, the story is probably not too far off the mark. Today, even though you can buy luxurious quilts in any department store, there is still a mystique about handmade quilts. In the United States, there is one quilt artist who learned her skills just as it is described above, in a tiny stone cottage in the remote Orkney Islands of Scotland.

Today, that woman lives on a larger farm in the Kentucky hills. She no longer makes patchwork quilts for her family. She makes works of art that hang in some of the best galleries in America. Her husband doesn’t have to cut firewood with a handsaw, but he still cuts his own, using husqvarna chainsaws. She and her large family still live modestly, even though she is a well known artist.

Is there a moral to this story? Maybe not, but it’s true. Sometimes, the most humble craft can evolve into high art.

Encourage the creativity in your children by providing them with the time, resurces and the space for making art.Set aside some interruption-free quality time for drawing, in a mess-proof zone – so that their creativity can run wild. Make sure you cover all surfaces so that any splashes of paint or scribbles of crayon are ‘caught’ – because  nothing squishes creativity more so than a parent saying “Don’t make a mess” every 2 minutes.

Choose the right drawing materials too as this is very  important. Many craft materials can be improvised, think of decorated kitchen roll tubes and potatoes as stamps, but when drawing tools and paper are required, opt for a small selection of good quality age-appropriate products, rather than loads of inferior products. Always ensure that you check safety information and follow instructions. Young children should always be surpervised during ‘art time’ because many necessary materials – such as crayons – pose a choking hazard.

Surroundings: As with writing or working at a computer, good posture and a comfortable position are important for drawing. With young children, a child-size table and chair is actually preferable to an easel. If the chair is a little high, provide a phone book for a footrest. A coffee table and a cheap plastic chair work well. A small kitchen storage trolley is ideal for containing supplies, or if space does not permit, a portable tackle box is a good option too. Untidy toddlers may need a drop-cloth and supervision to avoid ink-stained walls, as even ‘washable’ pens often don’t deliver on that promise!

Art Materials: Avoid cheap markers, too-hard pencils and thin paints – these types of materials are discouraging to the child and therefore  a waste of money. Provide many sheets of blank paper to inspire their crativity and occasionally invest in a canvas so that your child can paint something and chances are you’ll want to hang it on your wall!  Provide also coloring books or coloring pages which are bountiful online – coloring pages are not so great for creativity, however they do provide children with the  chance to practice their fine motor skills and sometimes it’s very relaxing and just what they need to simply color in without the ‘pressure’ of thinking about WHAT to draw. 

For example little girls may enjoy coloring images of Barbie and at sites like Barbie Coloring Pages you’ll find the best free Barbie coloring

When it comes to drawing and coloring, at each age/stage of your child’s life provide….

Toddlers

• Child-safe markers and wipe-off boards
• Chalk boards and safe chalk
• Plain paper and coloring pages

Juniors

• Sketchbook
• Student colored pencils
• Washable Markers
• Oil pastels
• Plain paper and coloring pages

Middle School

• Sketchbook  or scrapbook
• Graphite Pencils
• Watercolor sketch paper
• Watercolor pencils
• Marker pens, marker paper
• Plain paper and coloring pages

High School

• Sketchbook  or scrapbook
• Quality drawing papers and boards
• Graphite Pencils
• Artists’ quality colored pencils
• Illustration markers, marker paper
• Pastel paper and hard pastels if liked
• Plain paper and canvases to work on

All ages

• Safe sharpeners, erasers, dusters, stencils and rulers
• A  folder for storing large pieces
• Storage boxes for smaller pieces
• Consider photographing or scanning pieces for a permanent record.

Christmas is a holiday where all kinds of kids crafts are created at home and in the school environment.

Crafts for kids, however should be an activity that should bring fun and excitement to children’s activities aside from adding a bonding to the adults that are doing the projects with them.

Educational arts and crafts is a way of doing crafts with children where they are not blindly copying the adults model but are creating things that they are capable of creating at their own developmental level.

When children create at their own level a number of things occur.

It creates a great feeling about themselves, as who can feel good about crafts projects that are copycat models of someone else’s. Having a crafts project done by the kids without following the adults model makes children feel capable and good about themselves.

Creativity is another great advantage educational arts and crafts has over other forms of arts and crafts.
A child’s own creativity is greatly restrained when she has to copy an adults idea of what a craft should look like.

Educational art has a number of parts to it that include lots of activities.
There is the cafeteria style that allows children to choose materials to work with, there is process only art where the process is what counts along with a few more.

The point of it is that all of the crafts under educational arts and crafts should be age appropriate, and allow for freedom of creation and expression.

I have delineated below, two very low cost and simple crafts to do with your kids for your Christmas tree.

The first one uses plastic throwaway cups:

You will need to offer the children an array of colorful, permanent markers so they can color all over their cups. Encourage them to wrok slowly and use lots of markers on the whole cup.

When they are done, take a cookie sheet and put the cups upside down on it and put in the over at around 350 degrees. Give them a few minutes so that they have time to melt. Keep an eye on them so they don’t disintegrate in the oven. The cups and the tray of course, get very hot so the children must be kept away until they cool.

When they are cool, make a hole in the center and use colorful ribbon to hang as an ornament for your tree.

Another item that is easy to find in the home will be the next activity and uses old or discarded cd’s.

What next? Let the kids decorate them and have them string them up with ribbon or yarn.

There so many methods of beautifying the cd’s.

You can color with permanent markers, glue and glitter them, collage over them, decoupage over them, and decorate them with whatever shiny, decorative materials you can find.
Once they are done, get some pretty ribbon and hang them from your tree.

If you want to see what a crafts acitivity done in the cafeteria style is like then check out this Hanukkah Crafts collage

Crafts as in generally done, or crafts with kids has never been touted as an activity that is supposed to do more than keep kids busy, give them some fun and as some say add creativity to a child’s life.

Kids crafts however should do more than that, much more, actually.
There are crafts that are done many ways. When done educationally, there are an extra 4 benefits that kids get.

It teaches them to use their brains which develops cognitive skills.

It can make them take initiative really make them creative and raise their self esteem.

I can show you how to get kids to make a crafts, in this case a fall crafts that will encompass all of the benefits above.

If you take a look online, the majority of the crafts for kids are made up by adults.

Adults think of a cute idea, create it, get the materials, and have the children follow in step by step fashion.This creates what we call “copycat crafts”.

If the children don’t get involved and really work on these crafts without waiting for adult guidance then they will not get these benefits. They must take action.

You may think that lack of restriction and freedom is good for kids, but it can be very confusing for them and we find the happy medium.

Instead of making a model and preparing something for the kids to copy, you need to come up with just the theme of the project. Then, start thinking of the materials you can give the children that will suggest Fall. Allow your thoughts to drift to awesome fall scenes, raking leaves in the suburbs, delicious looking fall vegetabless.

Two very important or helpful things in this equation are Number one:To gather a lot of different pictures to hang up so that the children can get inspiration from these pictures and pick parts of the pictures that they want use in their craft.

The children will then do much better, if you give them some choices of what they can use in their artwork as a focal point.

As fall’s themes are ful lof trees, I think that giving the children a choice of many different types of trunks to choose from would be a great focal point.

If you look at this Fall craft collage I give step by sep instruction on how to do a fall craft like this.

When doing these type of crafts, kids solve their own problems instead of following and adults template.

It is just when kids can work on their own without an overly rigid structure that they learn to take initiative
Their creativity, of course blooms because they are being allowed to create what they like.
What a self esteem booster this all is.

If you are an early childhood teacher you may find another interesting crafts project in this style  called Fall projects for the preschool classroom.

The difference in what this type of crafts, or as I call it educational arts and crafts does for children is indescribable.

While children may have a hard time concentrating for long periods on more skill based activites, art is fun and therefor the perfect activity for them.

It’s when adults expectations of what young children can actually create in crafts collides with reality, that problems arise. They then feel that the only way children can create crafts is by copying an adults model. I call this “copycat crafts”.

If you are a real traditional sort and have no problem with creating robots out of your children then go right ahead and keep doing these kinds of crafts. Look online and in bookstores, they are all over the place
an there is no dearth of copycat crafts out there for you to choose from.

But before you do, let me give the explanation as to the detrimental effects of copycat crafts. You can also go download a free report  that will help you with all kid crafts by explaining to you in detail the pros and cons of copycat crafts and educational crafts.

So one of the ways that tradtional crafts makes kids into robots is by stripping these projects of thinking and problem solving opportunities. Copycat crafts is detrimental to your children and I would like to explain why that is.

There is no point in art if its only to commemorate holidays. While children are having these enriching experiences they should also be getting educational benefit from it as well.

There are such vital skills that can be learned by doing proper crafts activities. Problem solving, initiative and the raising of self esteem are just some of the benefits.

Even though the children may be getting some skill in fine motor coordination even when doing copycat crafts, it may be the only benefit.

I have a great post for you that gives a great example of creativity in art by showing you how children can make a crafts activity of flowers using both methods.

How can we get adults to put educational crafts into many other times aside from holiday time.

So what’s the next step?
If you like the idea of adding more creativity to kids crafts you can check out  Educational arts and crafts which will give you lots of crafts for kids to do that are truly educational.

If you want to try doing educational crafts on your own, however, and not copycat crafts  then there 4 points  to keep in mind when choosing a crafts for your children.

1.    Does this activity allow for any problem solving?
2.Will making this project allow for any thinking skills?
3.    Where’s the creativity here?
4.Will the children really feel that this project reflects their work?

If you keep these thoughts in mind when choosing crafts then not only will you be commemorating the holidays and spending quality time with your children but they also will be gaining vital skills

Parents and caregivers can promote drawing and coloring as a way to improve physical, social, emotional and cognitive development-and to have a lot of fun along the way too. Here are some suggestions:

1. Provide your grankids with nontoxic materials, blank sheets of white paper and coloring pages.

2. Model drawing. Show children that you like to draw and color too – make designs but do not show your children what they should draw.

3.Encourage all drawing and coloring activity and efforts by talking about the beautiful colors, the lines and shapes the child has made.

4. Rather than ask "What is it?,” say “Tell me everything about your drawing”.Asking “What is that?” suggests to the child that he may have failed to draw the image correctly.

5. Talk about issues such as thin or thick, or the concept of wide, narrow, dark, light, edge, shape, contour, etc.

6.Display their art in a prominent place – such as the kitchen fridge, and in places where visitors to your home will see them. Point them out to visitors – the praise for the work will boost a child’s self esteeem and confidence.

7.Give kids the freedom to choose the subjects of their drawings and the types of coloring sheets they would like. Some argue that coloring sheets do little to foster children's creativity - however they play a pivotal role in developing a child's fine motor skills - a pre-cursor to writing - and often encourage children who wouldn't otherwise draw and color to pick up a crayon to color in their favourite character. For example little girls may enjoy coloring images of fairytale princesses while boys enjoy coloring images of favourite characters such as Pokemon or Spongebob Squarepants and at sites like Spongebob Coloring Pages you’ll find many free Spongebob colouring Always supervise younger children while they draw and color – crayons pose a choking hazard.