Kids-in-Residence paint dots, spots, and specks!

Lux artist-in-residence James Chronister's unique process inspired Lux Kids-in-Residence to paint for weeks with small marks, using spots, dots, and tiny specks to form a variety of artworks. They used brushes (#2 round is James's fave!), q-tips and toothpicks in the process. 

Painting spots like Damien Hirst takes discipline and patience, but is a great way to practice color mixing and brush control. 

 

Using a q-tip and black paint, students rendered impressive self-portraits. 

And for their featured project, students spent several weeks making paintings of Ansel Adams landscape photographs. 

At the final art show students showed off their finished works (including these colorful spot paintings) and celebrated with family and friends!

 Connor

 Bridget

Catherine

 Karina

 The fabulous interns, Olga and Izzie

Summer Art Camp is Back! Scholarship Deadline Approaching and Classes Filling Quickly!

Lux’s popular five-week Summer Art Camp allows kids to explore, make and exhibit art in a museum setting. Each week of camp is based on a different theme or discipline, including Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture and Mixed-Media. Classes meet three days a week (for a total of 9 instruction hours per week) and feature creative projects, nature walks and studio tours. The camp culminates with a professionally hung art show in the Artist Pavilion, where students invite family, friends and teachers to view work created during the camp. Sessions are available for students ages 6-16.

Registration:

Click here for camp information such as scheduling, costs, and details as well as the online registration form.  Classes are filling quickly and some are already sold out! Click here for up-to-date availability for each session of camp.

Scholarship:

A needs-based scholarship is available for select students whose families cannot afford the Summer Art Camp fee. The application includes instructions on how to apply. All materials must be submitted together by April 25, 2013. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Internship:

Lux Art Institute is looking for enthusiastic, artistic high school and college students to assist with Summer Art Camp 2013. Click here for information and instructions on how to apply.

Lux Kids are experimenting with James Chronisters dot-painting technique!

These sixth graders from St. James Academy really channeled artist James Chronister's dot-painting skills! Watch out James, these tweens are going to put you out of business!

Mr. Chronister's Optometrist says this style of painting won't hurt your vision, that's good news for this focused artist!

James uses images that were printed with the BenDay dot style printing technique. This young artist is following in that method by painting in rows, just as the printer would.

The final step was to use a paintbrush and add trees to the foreground. These proud gentlemen are showing off their detailed birch tree forests.

Some artists nixed the brush and opted to stick with James' signature dot technique....

Check out the variety!

New artist in town!

San Francisco-based painter James Chronister moved into the Lux studio this week! And while he may have been one of the most "undiscovered" artists Lux has shown in recent years, the word is now out!

James's paintings are comprised of thousands and thousands of tiny black dots painted on to an off white canvas.
 

When viewed from close up the paintings dissolve into a senseless array of dots, but from far away they sharpen into near photographic realism!

Lux Liaison Carla led students on a journey through the forests and castles in James's paintings.

The best part of every visit to Lux is a getting to meet THE ARTIST! James told the kids about his adventures when he was their age, tromping through the Montana forests and listening to cassette tapes on his Dad's Walkman.

The other best part of a trip to Lux is the hands-on art project! Students experimented with painting trees using a grayscale palette...

..and discovered that even with just black and white you can achieve an infinite range of tone and depth.

This is a very serious tree.

James Chronister is in residence at Lux through April 13. You can meet James at Family Friday on Friday, March 22 from 1pm-4pm or at Family Day on April 13 from 11am-3pm.

Lux Kids love artist-in-residence Carlos Vega

It was an exciting month at Lux with artist Carlos Vega in residence! Carlos offered special inspiration for the young visitors, giving them pep talks with themes ranging from "be nice" to "be the president of the United States!!" 

 Carlos's works are filled with story and metaphor--this canvas tapestry depicts the Sacromonte in Granada, a hillside where cave dwellings were dug out by slaves searching for treasure.

 These girls love geometric patterns too! 

Dozens of classrooms came to visit Carlos on a Luxcursion and got to ask the artist  questions about his work, process and career. 

 Carlos took a special interest in the students, asking them just as many questions as they asked him!

At Family Day over 400 visitors enjoyed free studio tours and the chance to watch Carlos put the final touches on his residency project. 

No visit to Lux is complete without making an art project. These students used some of Carlos's favorite imagery--bugs and trees--and made their own inked carvings on metal sheets. 

Kids-in-Residence with Alan Feltus

Lux's Kids-in-Residence make themselves right at home in the studio. Artist Alan Feltus uses his own face to model the portraits of his subjects. He inspired these youngsters to strike a pose recreating his paintings with their own visages!

 Onyx and Skylar's rendition of Doppio Rittrato

 Lucy blends right into The Best of Times

I think Bridget practiced her Morning Mail pose a time or two

In typical Alan Feltus style, the kids incorporated themselves into their paintings. They posed for photos, then transfered their image into a painting of an interior scene. Check out the variety!

Family Day with Alan Feltus and Wes Bruce

Inspired by the exhibition of Alan Feltus, our wonderful Education Intern, Erica created two large murals...

that kids got to paint....

and stick their heads through!

Atop the hill we were serenaded by the wonderful The Donnis Trio!

Our young artists were inspired by Wes Bruce's installation by making drawings of buildings on old book pages.

Both exhibitions are on-view until December 29th, so bring your family this holiday season to Lux!