This grant provided for a local artist to come in and teach the students a portrait technique created by Dan Greene. The local artist is Jan Zabilski (pictured at far left), who along with her daughter, attended a workshop at Dan Greene’s’ studio in upper state New York. Jan offered to come in and teach students this style of portraiture.
DHS AP Art teacher Ms. Leydon applied for and received a grant from the DEF in order to fund this project which included models, materials and instruction. Also pictured above and in the student's artwork below is Chandler School retired art teacher Candy Gabbard.
In her words, Ms. Leydon describes the positive experience ...
"There were so many positive results from this experience that I have to break it down from beginning to end. First lets take a look at the room, all the drawing tables were moved out of the way and easels were brought in. The easels were essential to the confines of the space. Students needed to gather close so that they could have a good view, as it was there were many difficult spots for observation. Ideally we would have two models at the same time so that all students could have choice views. Results were incredible even with obstructions.
For the first time in over 16 years this room truly felt like a working studio. Not only because of the easels but because the students were actually drawing from a model. The model is usually reserved for private facilities and college arenas, here for the 1st time my students got to experience this first hand. There is a huge difference in drawing from a photograph, which is flat to observing from a model.
The experience of drawing from a model really teaches the students the art of observation. This technique includes a perspective component called sighting. Often cartoons picture the artist holding their thumb out towards the object being drawn, the artist is really using a system of measurement, a way to check the relationship between parts of the subject. In this case questions like how down do I draw the eyes, where are the ears located etc. are being answered. The ability to sight correctly increase the students ability to render what they are actually seeing, many times the familiar is rendered by a thought or concept that the child thinks he knows called schema.
This process was also foreign to me because I had never used charcoal as a preliminary medium before pastel. In fact I had never even thought about using it. As I watched the technique unfold I realized that it is a fantastic option, not only to you get the basic structure rendered but you can also find the values of dark before adding color. The color covers beautifully over the charcoal as another layer towards completion.
As you can see the student is modeling the color finding areas of dark to light and evaluating the space or shape of the color. Careful observation and planning help to make this lesson one of the strongest drawings in the students AP portfolio. I am so incredibly grateful to DEF for providing my students with this opportunity and for allowing me to assist in this process. This lesson will be continued for years to come. The room will be turned back into a functioning studio, and the knowledge these students gain from this experience will stay with them for a lifetime. We will continue to use this process of medium along with the easels to complete open-air drawings around the school. Rendering landscapes, using techniques such a sighting as well as sketching with charcoal.
I can only reiterate all that I have said before. This was a fantastic opportunity for the AP studio class here at Duxbury. It put the studio back into the art room. This is an exciting learning environment where every student rose to the challenge and flourished. This has affected the dynamics of my room and the art program. We will be incorporating this lesson into the program for years to come.
This grant provided for a local artist to come in and teach the students a portrait technique created by Dan Greene. The local artist is Jan Zabilski (pictured at far left), who along with her daughter, attended a workshop at Dan Greene’s’ studio in upper state New York. Jan offered to come in and teach students this style of portraiture. 
"There were so many positive results from this experience that I have to break it down from beginning to end. First lets take a look at the room, all the drawing tables were moved out of the way and easels were brought in. The easels were essential to the confines of the space. Students needed to gather close so that they could have a good view, as it was there were many difficult spots for observation. Ideally we would have two models at the same time so that all students could have choice views. Results were incredible even with obstructions.
The experience of drawing from a model really teaches the students the art of observation. This technique includes a perspective component called sighting. Often cartoons picture the artist holding their thumb out towards the object being drawn, the artist is really using a system of measurement, a way to check the relationship between parts of the subject. In this case questions like how down do I draw the eyes, where are the ears located etc. are being answered. The ability to sight correctly increase the students ability to render what they are actually seeing, many times the familiar is rendered by a thought or concept that the child thinks he knows called schema. 
This process was also foreign to me because I had never used charcoal as a preliminary medium before pastel. In fact I had never even thought about using it. As I watched the technique unfold I realized that it is a fantastic option, not only to you get the basic structure rendered but you can also find the values of dark before adding color. The color covers beautifully over the charcoal as another layer towards completion. 
As you can see the student is modeling the color finding areas of dark to light and evaluating the space or shape of the color. Careful observation and planning help to make this lesson one of the strongest drawings in the students AP portfolio. I am so incredibly grateful to DEF for providing my students with this opportunity and for allowing me to assist in this process. This lesson will be continued for years to come. The room will be turned back into a functioning studio, and the knowledge these students gain from this experience will stay with them for a lifetime. We will continue to use this process of medium along with the easels to complete open-air drawings around the school. Rendering landscapes, using techniques such a sighting as well as sketching with charcoal.