Little Homeschool on the Prairie: Artistic Pursuits Inc. Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My family has used many of the books from Artistic Pursuits Inc. throughout our homeschooling years and we have been very pleased with all the homeschool art projects and skills we have learned. Our most recent book ARTistic Pursuits, Elementary 4-5 Book Two, Color and Composition has been just a wonderful. Here is a review that we did in 2016.

ARTistic Pursuits, Elementary 4-5 Book Two, Color and Composition is a spiral bound book. This particular book focuses on color theory and composition. You will want to go over the “Getting Started” section that goes over color wheel and learning the rules of it. Seeing color variations and color mixture, and exaggerate colors. There is more information about color like your pigment, binders, filler, and wet and dry mediums.

Your supplies are listed at the front of the book. I appreciate that supplies are nothing extravagant. You’ll need watercolor pencils, colored pencils, watercolor brush, watercolor paper, sketch pad, vinyl eraser, metal handheld pencil sharpener, and a few other supplies. You can also order your supplies from their website.

There are 16 Units and within the units you have 4 lessons that will focus on either color theory or composition throughout the lessons. Plan for around an hour class twice a week. This is what is recommended. I personally think depending on your child you could go more days and break it up in smaller time segments.

Each unit’s lesson follows a similar format: Lesson 1-Building a Visual Vocabulary, Lesson 2-Art Appreciation and Art History, Lesson 3-Techniques, and Lesson 4-Application. Your lesson assignment is always in blue. You see lots of other art which may include student gallery or professional paintings from well know artist.

The first lesson in the unit is Building a Visual Vocabulary. These lessons are assigned a specific topic that is taken from your environment that you are familiar with. You are trying to make it connect in a tangible way.

Examples: Unit 2 (page 11) Primary Colors you are looking for a small object from nature, it can even be something you collect. After studying the object you are going to draw that small object large to fill up your whole page.

Your second lesson Art Appreciation and Art History. The topic focuses on a masterpiece from a well know artist. Using what you learned in the first lesson in your unit you are looking at how that particular artist used the technique in their masterpiece. You are given a brief biography of the artist and the history so on page 40 you learn some information on American Impressionism.

Example: Unit 5 (page 28) the focus is how the artist uses Tinting and Shading you observe a painting from Eanger Irving Couse oil painting “Hunting for Deer.” You see how the artist make certain parts stand out in his painting with tinting and shading. The books point’s things out that you may have not noticed at first. You take a piece of fruit and paint it on different textures of paper you can use paper bags or copy paper. Then you observe the difference and how the paper changes the color values. There is an illustration and information pointing out the differences of the paper texture (page 29)

The third lesson in a unit is Techniques and you learn how to use materials and certain artist tools to make your own ordinal masterpiece.

Example: Unit 13 (page 74) the assignment is drawing buildings. The lesson talks about parallel, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines. It goes over cubes and adding in doors and window.

Fourth lesson Application as you close out the unit you will be doing your final project. Using all the skills from the topic you have learned in the unit. Your project can be from a photo, still object, landscape, portraiture, and other objects.

Example: Unit 13 (page 75) for your final project your assignment is drawing a picture using cubed objects like a building or a vehicle. Off to the side in the margin you have a list of supplies and information on your subject. In this lesson for your subject you can choose to do a house in your neighborhood, a city street, street scene, or a four wheeled vehicle.

At the end of the Units you have an Evaluation Sheet to help you determine how to grade your students work.

How did I use ARTistic Pursuits, Elementary 4-5 Book Two, Color and Composition?

Originally I planned on having just my 17 year old daughter with special needs use this. My son who is 14 joined in with the projects too. We did anywhere from 2-3 days a week. We finished a unit a week. My son wanted to jump around in the lessons. Normally I wouldn’t do this but he is familiar with most of the concepts and it worked for him to jump around.

Here are a few of the projects that got done.