In the Studio with Jeremy Sutton: Educator Guide

Subject Visual Art: Painting
Grades 6 ‐ 12
Standards Addressed Artistic Perception, Creative Expression, Aesthetic Valuing

Teaching with KQED Media
Using video in the classroom can breathe life and meaning into any lesson. In the arts, video can be particularly effective for introducing large concepts, aspects of the creative process, and key arts‐ related vocabulary to introduce students to discipline‐based and concept‐based study. Using media in the classroom helps connect students with artists and promotes critical viewing skills and media awareness. For more information about using media in the classroom download KQED’s Media Tips teaching tool (a direct link is provided in the resource section of this guide).
Using KQED media in the classroom allows student to virtually visit a local artist, while listening to firsthand information about the artist’s practice. In order to present KQED media to your entire class, you will need a projector and computer with the capacity to stream video. Alternatively, assign students to watch the video on their own or in groups. After soliciting student responses to the video, continue the lesson by implementing hands‐on or discussion activities to deepen the impact of the media – ideas are provided in this guide.

Making the Most of Media
The following activity ideas may be used in the classroom after viewing the KQED video In the Studio with Jeremy Sutton.

Drawing as a Foundation
San Francisco based artist Jeremy Sutton believes that drawing represents the “root and foundation” of everything he creates. Creating unique and original drawings, he uses pastel, conté crayon, charcoal and ink. He also draws inspiration from historical artists, such as Renaissance artist Titian. When visiting galleries and museums, he often will copy drawings he admires. Copying master artists’ drawings and paintings is rooted in tradition. It is an art instruction method that has long been practiced. Invite students to copy a drawing of a historical master artist. Explain that when an artist is copying the work of a master artist, they are not only studying the drawing techniques, but at the same time, studying the artist’s thinking process.
Gather copies of master drawings for students to view. This can include works by historical artists such as Titian, Tintoretto, Giovanni, Bellini, Leonardo, and Michelangelo. Encourage students to select a drawing that they admire and like. During this process, invite students to consciously ask why the artist made choices with media, color, form, line quality, etc. Explain to the students that if they can identify specific strategies used in a drawing, then that strategy or skill can transfer to their own works of art.
After a drawing is selected for copying, invite the students to study the artist. During this process, explore the following questions:
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Where was the artist from?

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When did the artist live?

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Did the artist belong to any particular “school” or movement?

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Did the artist study under the guidance of another master artist?

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Is it known when the work was created?

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What materials were used, including type of paper?

While observing the drawing, encourage students to watch for soft and hard edges in the lines. Pay attention to the quality of lines and shading patterns. Observe how shading is achieved. Note what methods are used, whether it’s hatching, crosshatching, multiple curved lines, etc. Observe the quality of the lines as they turn in particular directions or vary in thickness. The drawing masters often exhibited their personality in their lines. Look for the ways they varied their lines and shading techniques to achieve their purpose. Encourage students to predict the personality of the artist. What might the artist been thinking when the work was created?
When the drawing process is complete, display the work and encourage discussion with the following questions:
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How would you create a drawing of the same subject if you were not copying?

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What kind of drawing and shading techniques did the artist use?

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How is the drawing composed? Is the subject balanced with the less important parts?

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What is your favorite part of the drawing?

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What was the most challenging part of copying the drawing?

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What did you learn from creating a copy of a master drawing?

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How is your drawing different from the original? How does your interpretation reflect your own personality? From Tempera Paint to Oil Paint
In the early Renaissance, artists painted with powdered tempera pigments mixed with egg yolks. Egg yolks were used as a binding agent. This created egg tempera paint. Egg tempera paint had to be mixed when it was needed as it could not be stored. It also dried very quickly, so artists had to paint small areas at a time. The fast drying time made blending colors difficult. Later in the Renaissance period, artists began to explore oil paint. Jeremy Sutton states, “oil paint, which has a very long history, is a paint medium which offers you an incredible wide range of colors.” It also dries very slowly which allowed artists to mix larger batches of paint and keep it for more than one painting session. Slow drying paint can be carefully blended to create soft, seamless edges. It could also be applied in thin layers, allowing artists to generate rich and radiant colors. With this activity, students will explore and examine the difference between two types of paint, tempera and oil. Because this activity explores the use of oil paints and solvents, this project is not recommended for elementary school students. The next activity, Exploring Egg Tempera Paint, is elementary age appropriate.
Supplies needed for this project include:
• 8 x 10” watercolor paper cut in half to make two 4 x 10” pieces, each student using one 4 x
10” piece.
• Tempera paint, either powdered or liquid. If the paint is in the powdered form, invite students to add water to create a liquid paint. Paint should be the consistency of pancake batter. Students will need 2 colors, preferably red, blue or yellow.
• Oil paints, two colors per student, preferably the same colors as the tempera paint
• Linseed or other oil to thin oil paint
• Painting palette (recycled plastic lid will work)
• Cleaning solvent
• Water
• Paintbrushes, two per student. Use one brush for tempera paint, the other for oil paint.
• Paper towels
• Pencil
Ask students to draw five squares across the length of the watercolor paper. Squares should be no larger than 1.5 inches. Ask students to label the squares in this order: tempera paint, tempera blending, oil, oil blending, oil glazing. If students have not used oil paints before, they will need instruction on how use the solvent to clean brushes and how to properly handle and dispose of paper towels used for cleaning the brushes.
Invite students to fill the first square with one color of tempera paint. Using the second brush, apply a small amount of oil paint to a palette and instruct students to thin the paint using a small amount of oil. Fill the third square with the thinned oil paint. Invite conversation about the differences between

the two paints. Discuss the consistency, transparent and/or opaque qualities, viscosity and drying time. The second and fourth square will be filled by blending. When blending the paints, demonstrate by laying down one color over half the square. Clean and dry the brush and apply the other color over the other half of the square. Clean and dry the brush again. To blend the colors, drag the clean brush where the two colors meet in the middle and begin to blend. When students have completed this step, ask students which paint was easier to blend and which type of paint created a more seamless blend. In the square marked oil glazing, ask students to paint with one color of oil paint. Allow this to dry to the touch before the glazing is applied. When the square is ready, instruct students to thin the other color of oil paint to glaze over the first color. Invite comments and ideas about what happened to the first color when the glazing was applied.
When the activity is complete, invite conversation about the difference between the two paints, the processes involved and the historical significance of the invention of oil paint and its use by both
Renaissance and contemporary artists.

Exploring Egg Tempera Paint
This project is fun and educational for students grades K‐12, and works especially well with elementary school students. Egg tempera paint was made and used by many artists in the early
Renaissance period and before. Painting with this medium has been dated back to ancient Greece. http://www.kooschadler.com/techniques.htm This activity will explore the method for making egg tempera paint.
Supplies you will need include:
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One egg per student, plus a few extras to allow for breakage
Powdered tempera paint, several colors if possible
Watercolor paper, any size. One sheet per student
Two small bowls per student (recycled plastic containers work well), one used for mixing paint, the other to catch the egg whites
Toothpicks, one per student
Paintbrush, one per student
Water
Paper towels

Begin by demonstrating the process of separating the yolk from the white of the egg. Crack the egg over a bowl and separate the yolk from the white by gently pouring the yolk back and forth from ½ of the shell to the other. When the yolk is separate, gently move the yolk from one palm to the other, each time wiping the free hand on a paper towel. This will help remove as much of the egg white as possible. Next, hold the yolk in one palm and very carefully, pinch the yolk with two fingers. Taking a tooth pick in the other hand, pierce the yolk sac and let the contents run into a clean bowl. Discard the yolk sac. Next, add the powdered pigment to the yolk and stir well to form a thick paste. Add water carefully while stirring with a paint brush to create a smooth, even paint. When all of the paint is made, have students trade paints to create colorful works of art. All of the paint will need to be used during this art session as egg tempera paint can not be stored.

Language Arts Activities
Art Historians – Detectives at Work
Art historians are like history detectives. They search for information about the history of works of art. The history of a work of art is important for several reasons. History helps determine the value of the work, both in terms of financial worth, as well as the art’s value within the overall history of art.
For instance, an art historian may be able to determine that a work of art is of great historical value because it represents a new idea during a specific time period. Although it may have no value in terms of financial worth, it may be valuable as a document that represents a cultural, social or technical change.
In this activity, students will act as art historians to compare and contrast two works of art. Recording similarities and differences, students will gain a deeper understanding of the work, the artist and the circumstances surrounding the making of art in a given time and place.
Invite students to choose two works of art from the Renaissance period. Ask that one piece be created by a Venetian painter and the other by a Florentine painter. Venetian artists include Titian, Giorgione,
Veronese, Tintoretto and Mantegna. Florentine painters include Donatello, Michelangelo, Botticelli and da Vinci. Works can be found in books, libraries and the Internet. If students are working on computers, they can import the two images into a word processing document, or post them on a blog.
If students are working from books or posters, images can be viewed individually or in small groups.
Invite students to begin the comparison process by simply looking and observing each work. Using two separate pieces of paper or dividing one piece into two columns, ask students to start writing notes about their observations. Encourage students to be as thorough as they can. Use the following questions to prompt writing:
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Who is the artist and what is his/her nationality?
What is the title and date of the work?
What medium did the artist use?
What do you see? List all the items you see in the artwork.
What is the subject and where is it located?
Describe the composition of the artwork (where objects and/or shapes are located in relationship to each other)?
Describe the elements of art present in the work (line, color, space, texture, form, shape and value). What materials did the artist use to create the artwork?
What is the mood of the art work? Think about the color, expressions, etc.
Add your own comparisons.

When the lists are complete, invite students to write a narrative paragraph that compares and contrasts the two works of art they have chosen. Encourage students to look for new meaning and to see something important that they would not have understood without comparing.
When the writing process is complete, invite students to read their paragraphs to the group, asking for feedback and constructive comments. Inform students that feedback is an important step in the compare and contrast process.

Exploring Portraits from Two Points of View: Artist and Subject
Invite students to imagine a world without pictures of anyone they knew. Tell them that this would include no photographs of friends or family, no posters or advertisements, no movies or television, and no paintings or sculptures of real people. Discuss what the world might be like without a visual representation of what we look like.
The portrait that we know today, a picture that captures the likeness of a person, was revolutionary during the Renaissance. During this period, portraits, both painted and sculpted, were given an important role and valued as objects and as representations of success and prestige. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_painting#Renaissance This also meant that artists began to develop new skills necessary to represent a likeness to a real person. Eventually, portraits began to not only represent a person, but a person’s character, and how the artist felt about the person. With this activity, students will examine the relationship between the subject in the painting and the artist who painted it by writing a dialog from both points of view.
Search for portraits created during the Renaissance period. Examples from the de Young Museum’s exhibition, Masters of Venice: Renaissance Painters of Passion and Power include Titian’s Portrait of
Isabella and Portrait of Johann Frederich, Tintoretto’s Portrait of Sebastiano Venier, Veronese’s Judith with the Head of Holofernes and Lucretia, and Giorgione’s Youth with an Arrow. Divide the class into groups of 5 to 7 students, choosing one portrait per group. After choosing the artwork, display portraits with a projector, or with large size reproductions. Invite groups to brainstorm ideas from both points of view, the subject in the portrait and the artist. Ask the groups to record the ideas and comments on a piece of paper in two columns: Artist’s Point of View and Subjects Point of View.
Encourage discussion with the following questions:
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What is going on in the picture?
What is the subject in the portrait wearing and what does the clothing tell us about the subject? Where is the subject and how can you tell?
What other items are in the background and what do they tell us about the subject?
What time of day is it and how can you tell? Is this important to the painting?
How much visual space does the subject take in the picture plane?
What is the mood of the subject? Does the subject look happy, content, comfortable, somber?
Do you think the artist felt any particular way about the subject? Why?

With the ideas and comments recorded, invite students to write a monologue in the point of view of either artist or subject. Written from a narrative voice, encourage students to examine their observations and build a story, not only by what is actually seen in the portrait, but also what can be felt, thought or supposed.
For example, from the subject’s point of view in Titian’s Portrait of Johann Frederich, (image can be found at on the de Young’s Web site: http://deyoung.famsf.org/deyoung/exhibitions/masters‐venice‐ renaissance‐painters‐passion‐and‐power‐kunsthistorisches‐museum‐v), the monologue might begin like this: My name is Sir Johann Frederich and I have been sitting here in this stuffy room for 3 hours, dressed

in this miserably hot fur and high collar while this artist, who calls himself Titian, is attempting to paint. I have paid him well and I expect him to make me look confident, assured and handsome…
The artist’s point of view might begin like this: I am Tiziano Vecellio, also known as Titian. I am a
Venetian painter and here I sit painting the wealthy and proud Johann Frederich! He has paid me well. I shall place dear Johann prominently in the picture plane to illustrate his arrogance and overconfidence, as well as his grand stature!
When the writing process is complete, invite the students to read, or perform their monologues to the class while displaying the portrait. Ask students to bring props and costumes to complete the project. The Importance of Exploratory Drawing
During the Renaissance period, artists began to draw and use paper increasingly to explore their ideas that were later used for the design of paintings, sculptures and architecture. Drawing became a vehicle for the process of innovation, change and exploration. It allowed the artist to practice and refine designs that were not always apparent in a finished work. This process remains in place today and offers the viewer a glimpse into the artist’s creative process.
Discuss the importance of exploratory drawing and how contemporary artist are influenced by the work of the Renaissance artists. The following questions and ideas can be used to prompt discussion:
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How are the drawings of the masters significant and influential to contemporary artists?
When viewing the drawings of master artists, what does it tell us about artists of this time period? Artists are frequently finding inspiration in their surroundings. Often ideas are fleeting and short lived. What role does a sketchbook have in keeping a track record for visual and conceptual thoughts and ideas?

Drawing can document the progression of an idea. A drawing can also educate a viewer about how a work is created. Discuss how this is relative to the work of the masters as well as contemporary artists. Resources to extend learning about the exhibit, art forms and featured artists:
In the Studio with Jeremy Sutton, KQED Education

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_du6CwQu_9I Jeremy Sutton Web site http://www.jeremysutton.com/ de Young Museum, Masters of Venice: Renaissance Painters Passion and Power: http://deyoung.famsf.org/deyoung/exhibitions/masters‐venice‐renaissance‐painters‐passion‐and‐ power‐kunsthistorisches‐museum‐v Wikipedia entry on Titian: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titian Wikipedia entry on Florentine School: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentine_School

Wikipedia entry on Portrait Painting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_painting#Renaissance
J. Paul Getty Museum article Light and Water (Venetian artists): http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/light_water/ History of egg tempera: http://www.kooschadler.com/techniques.htm
Society of Tempera Painters: http://www.eggtempera.com/
The following KQED Spark & Gallery Crawl documentaries and educator’s guides may be used for compare/contrast purposes, and to extend leaning about contemporary art:
KQED Spark documentary about Robert Bechtle http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark/profile.jsp?essid=4813 KQED Spark documentary about Hung Liu http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark/profile.jsp?essid=4455 KQED Spark documentary about Wayne Thiebaud http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark/profile.jsp?essid=24225 KQED Spark documentary about Nathan Oliveira http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark/profile.jsp?essid=4696 KQED Gallery Crawl video New Digs – September 2008, Patricia Sweetow Gallery http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/gallerycrawl/profile.jsp?essid=23373 For more information about KQED’s Arts Education resources, send an email to ArtsEd@KQED.org or call 800.723.3566.