Are you struggling to get your Art projects done on time? Some students – even those who are dedicated and hard-working – find it challenging to work at the pace required in a Visual Art course. The skilful, perfectionist student usually falls into this category; those who produce meticulous, highly-detailed observational drawings or paintings. Parents and teachers can be unsure how to provide practical, positive strategies for improvement. This article lists fifteen ways that a high school Art student can work faster, without compromising the quality of their work.
1. Use a ground
There are many benefits to working on a ground. One of these is increased painting or drawing speed. A ground covers a painting or drawing surface from the outset. It can act as mid-tone, with only black and white used to apply dark and light areas (as in the examples below) or be left partially visible in the final work. This results in an artwork that is much faster to complete (see our article about painting on grounds for more information).
An A Level Art portrait by Mariam Shafei-Sabett from Dame Alice Owen’s School, Hertfordshire, England and a teaching exemplar from Amiria Robinson:
using a painting ground
The beautiful A Level portrait on the left has been completed upon a pale brown ground (this provides a mid-tone skin colour and is also left visible in the background). On the right, a wash of ochre, blue and brown provides a background to the drawing black and white pencil drawing.
2. Incorporate mixed media /patterned surfaces / textural elements
As with using a ground, patterned, decorative or textural items can cover areas of an artwork quickly. Although this strategy should be used with care, selecting only materials which support or enhance your project (usually with reference to a relevant artist model) this can be a great way to speed up your project and introduce creative use of mixed media.
Two AP Studio Art (Concentration) pieces by Alyssa Church from Bingham High School, South Jordan, Utah, United States:
AP Studio Art concentration
Exploring fairy tales (the ‘Princess and the Pea’ and ‘Rumpelstiltskin’, these well-composed works allow the student to demonstrate observational drawing skills in certain areas of the artwork, while saving time by covering other areas with mixed-media patterned surfaces.
Domestic Violence series by artist Scott Waters:
artist Scott Waters
Artist Scott Waters produces gripping paintings on a range of found surfaces, including wallpaper, postcards and romantic paperback book covers. Note that the chosen surfaces are integral to the message in the work; the shattering of domestic bliss.
Please read this article for more exciting ideas about how to use mixed media within your work.
3. Work on several pieces at once
Working in series – completing several paintings or drawings at one time – is a very helpful strategy for Art students. This speeds work up for a number of reasons:
A single colour can be used throughout a number of works, without needing to stop for remixing / washing brushes
While one work is drying, another one can be worked on
Similar processes or techniques can be mastered quickly and repeated on subsequent works
In addition, when working on several pieces at once, ‘preciousness’ about the work tends to be lost, leading to more experimentation and greater work speed.
The studio of artist Willem de Kooning:
Willem de Kooning studio
These photos of Willem de Kooning’s studio show several works in progress pinned to the wall and scattered across the floor. Although creating a glorious working environment such as this is not possible in most high schools, many Painting classrooms have small pin board alcoves which can be used to display work in progress.
4. Paint things in the right order – background areas first
Painting things in an illogical order is surprisingly common amongst high school Art students. In almost all cases, the background should be completed first, followed by the middle-ground, ending with the foreground. This is easily understood when considering a tree in front of a cloudy sky. If you make the mistake of painting the tree first, the sky has to be meticulously painted around every leaf and branch: an irritating task that takes hours (and ends up looking a little shabby). Painting the sky first, however, means that a large brush can quickly be used to paint the sky, with the tree then easily added over the top. Painting in the correct order also results in a painting that has layers (which gives it a richness and lustre, as with using a ground). If you find that subsequent layers of paint do not adequately cover earlier ones, you have an inferior brand of paint. (We will detail our paint and art supply recommendations in an upcoming article – stay tuned)!
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