Our Grade 5 and 6 students have been looking at the work of English artist David Hockney. In preparation for printing a still life like his “Apples Pears and Grapes” 1986 they tried drawing one using bowls of fruit directly in front of them. Once we established that they should draw only what they saw and not every part of each fruit they found the activity relatively easy. Colour was added with watercolour pencils or paints. From the Art Teacher’s perspective I thought the $37 I spent on fruit was well worthwhile and the artwork delightful. For mess free Still Life composing the NGA’s Still Life Composer reigns supreme.
I was born in Bendigio, Victoria, Australia and attended a 13 student Rural School, Muskerry East Primary. I was a boarder at Girton CEGGS in Bendigo for my seconday Schooling.I trained at Bendigo and Coburg Teachers Colleges before beginning teaching in Melbourne in 1975. I taught a variety of Primary classes before beginning Art teaching in 1986. I am currently in my 26th year of teaching Visual Arts and my 24th year at Taylors Lakes Primary School which is in outer north-west Melbourne, Australia. I am married with three children and outside teaching am a keen member of Rotary International. Besides my passion for Art I have keen interests in photography, travel and in Learning Technologies.
