#9 -- Jaaaaack!!!!!!!!

One of the best moments I've had as a teacher has to do with this young man.  Jack is funny.  He's your typical middle school kiddo, highly energetic, and overall completely awesome.  He said to me once...
"Ms. Haan, I have to tell you something. You are the most disorganized teacher I know....and I LOVE IT!"  He was so genuine and you could tell because of the excitement in his voice and smile as he said it.  What I loved about this was 1) He was honest, and I love honest! 2) He keeps me in check. He says what most people won't. My desk was a mess...I've seen taken steps to correct that so my disorganization isn't overflowing into all parts of my life.  I'm still working on Jack's portrait..but I've almost got it. Thanks a bunch to his mom as well for keeping me in check and reminding me to update my blogspot!!!! You guys rock.

Check it out. 

#8--The missing portrait

I can't bring myself to add the portrait of Rowan yet. I'm not at a place where I am comfortable with her portrait enough to show it in progress.  I've known Rowan, now a junior, since her 8th grade year, my first year teaching.  Through the years, she and I have kept in touch, and she often comes by my class after school to visit.  Sometimes it's actually to make art and she says she comes to see me as an excuse.  Whatever the reason she stops by, my Rowbie Wan is very dear. She's looked up to me as an artist and teacher, and I can't let her down by posting a portrait I don't think she'll like yet. I know, I know....but soon. I promise!

#5, #6, #7

So far the run down of portraits goes...
1. Hop
2.Cassie
3.Bryana
4. Eric
5. Amber
6. Fiona
7. Maggie
8. Rowan
9. Jack
10. Self Portrait
11. Amy
12. Anabel

Here, I'll talk about #5, #6, and #7 along with pictures in progress.
# 5 Amber-
I really enjoyed painting this portrait. It started out not looking the way I wanted it to, and at one point I struggled with finding a background color. I added Terra Rosa to my palette for the first time since college! It was necessary for Amber's flesh tone, and I fell in love with the color all over again!

Amber is such a sweet kiddo. As we chatted and I painted, I learned so much about her life and really appreciated her view of the world. She is so peaceful and kind.

#6- Fiona
What a cool name, for starters! It fits her face. She 'looks' like a Fiona!

When I first started this portrait, I had triple booked Maggie, Rowan, and Fiona. I started with Fiona first because she had to leave early, and I wanted to get her roughed in before she left. I ended up having good progress on three portraits that day!  At some point I became discouraged in this portrait, and began painting it upside down to readjust some of the key shapes and forget about painting a likeness. Upside down drawing is a frequent warm up activity for students to learn to overcome challenges in drawing by taking the "object" out of the task and causing a shift from the left to right brain.

And Maggie...Maggie has been fun to paint. She wasn't having the best day the day we started the portrait, but sitting for me gave her some chill time. One thing I simply adore about Maggie is how much she laughs. She laughs non stop. She is always very funny, has such colorful stories, and is very genuine.  The colors in this portrait seemed to develop into a mauve or dulled brilliance of color. I am guessing this is a technical issue because after beginning three portraits in one day my turpentine was likely dirty and in need of settling.

Looking at all 3 pictures while creating this post has really made me notice the desperate need to upload the recent Amber. This picture doesn't do it justice!

Roadblocks!

There's been quite a gap between my last update, but I am up to 12 portraits.  I am in the middle of finishing up several of them because I have been blessed with plenty of students willing to sit for an hour or so after school. It's been a great experience painting my students because I learn so much more about them than I would have by just seeing them in class every three days.

I've noticed several things happening in my work so far.  My drawing skills are getting stronger, my color palette is changing, I'm thinking of a variety of art processes possible, and I'm starting to have ideas for new portraits.

Over fall break, I hope to start a new one or two of close people, maybe family or close friends.
To be continued...