Learn more about Chris HERE.

Often dreamlike and mysterious, Christine Brennan’s work is full of symbols. Her images draw from the unconscious.  She leaves it up to the viewer to find their own meaning.

Chris calls her work ‘magical surrealism’.

Surrealism is an art style that broke away from showing thing that happen in real life and encouraged dream-like ideas and fantasy.

Chris’ work may have a child-like feel, but she uses traditional elements in her art like contour line, value and form.
There is often a strong horizon line where the land meets the sky.

Get started!

1. Christine starts with a doodle or contour line drawing of some random thing.
2. Then she’ll turn it around and around until she sees something else in it.  Try it!
3.  Imagine that your drawing is becoming something else!  Draw some of those details.  It could be any kind of object – animal, plant, building, rock…
4.  Sketch in the composition – the things in the picture and how they are arranged.
5.  Add a horizon line –  where the land or building and sky meet.
6.  Color your shapes into forms by adding values of dark, medium and light colors.

Hints:  Step a few feet away from your picture to see if any shapes need more dark or light values in their color

Tell a story!  Answer questions like:  Where is it?  What time of day is it?  What is it doing?  How does it feel?

Click HERE to study Christine’s work up close.

Funding

Learning To See has been adapted for comprehensive online learning!  We utilize Zoom (& other video platforms) and have webpages to support each lesson.  Art supply packets are provided for each student.

Our standard 8-week in-the-classroom residency is $550 (including instructor and supplies).
You can “Adopt A Classroom” for $550.00. Click HERE to Donate

Four week and single lessons are also available. Our lessons are cross-curricular and support the California content standards. Many of them can be tailored and grouped to work with a particular unit of study, i.e. zoology, social studies, history, language arts, sciences, etc. They are adaptable to a wide range of grade levels from elementary through secondary grades and beyond, including community groups and programs. Programs are supported in a variety of ways, including school and PTA funds, grants, or personal donations from an individual or group of parents/grandparents.

Our program is taught by professional artists who have extensive educational experience. We feel that this criterion helps to guide the student with a deeper understanding of the art making process.

For more information, or to arrange a residency in your neighborhood, call 805.653.2501 or email [email protected].