Day 2: "Art Every Day Month" - Cello studies (work in progress) - inspired by Picasso!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post Day 1: Lesson in Mark-Making from Matisse, while I was in Vienna, I got to see some great art, including some Picasso sketches and paintings, so yesterday (for Day 2 of Art Every Day Month and as part of my ongoing beginner drawing lessons/practice!) I decided to draw my 'cello, Picasso style. It's not yet finished (I want to paint in some colour), but here are the initial sketches:

Here's my Picasso technique:

* I used a charcoal pencil (as I love the dark soft lines you get) and started off by drawing one element of the 'cello.
* Then I turned the page 90 degrees and drew another element, then turned the page another 90 degrees and so on. 
* When all the 'cello elements were on the page, I then added straight lines connecting the various elements.  
* Then I added some vase shapes of some wooden vases that were next to the 'cello and shaded in some of the blocks.
* I fixed the charcoal with a fixing spray to prevent the charcoal smudging and to allow me to paint over with gouache later on.


This is definitely a technique you could use with older children. Show them some works by Picasso and let them choose an object to draw, turning the page 90 degrees every so often.