Students in the landscape

We are winding the school year down by taking the lesson outside. Students in my upper school class have moved from the classroom into a grove of mango trees. The focus is to learn to work at an easel (and set it up and take it down), use a horizontal canvas panel, and break down the basic elements of the landscape into an inspired work of art. Half the class wants to create their abstracted interpretation and the other half wants to respond to what they are seeing as realistically as possible. So I will be moving about these 32 students (two classes) with some mental and technical flexibility!
I've really enjoyed working with these kids for the last few months and as we gather their portfolios together we all see the technical progress and the unique individual styles. It is a rich product and I couldn't be more proud of them. Many of my most dedicated painters came to the class because they were kicked out of drama, or they just needed an art credit. They have come to see that they have talent, and a valuable sense of vision. The class respects one another, each student so different from their peers. I love that about this school- Palmer Trinity- we embrace diversity.