Dog Days of Summer
Madison
student artists
create three-dimensional dog portraits
Artistic panels will decorate courtyard
By
Laura Hodges
Contributing Writer
(August 2011) – Jac-Cen-Del Elementary School
art teacher Stacy Hardesty-Gray thinks children just don’t get
enough art education in the schools. So she devotes part of her summer
to helping local children discover their artistic talents by painting
dogs.
This summer her students are creating dog portraits on wooden panels
that will be installed in the courtyard behind The Blue Cerebus Dog
Boutique at 133 E. Main St., Madison, Ind.
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Photo
by Laura Hodges Working
on their dog portraits are |
Other summers she has had children paint dog murals at
the Madison Dog Park, the Jefferson County Animal Shelter, the Indian
Trails Restaurant in Canaan, and the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
Her students range in age from 11 to 15. Each picked a photograph of
a personable canine for the project. Then Hardesty-Gray taught them
how to deconstruct that image into its basic shapes so that they could
successfully draw it in three dimensions. With dogs, it’s a matter
of using shading to make the snout appear to rise from the surface,
she said. After the sketch is complete, then students learned to blend
paints to get the effects they wanted. The paintings use brightly colored
backgrounds to give them a whimsical feel.
The students are using outdoor paint and a sealant because the paintings
will be displayed outside.
“Hopefully they’ll hold up for a while,’ said Hardesty-Gray.
“What’s nice for the kids is that this is more professional
than just making a painting to display at home. This is public art.”
They will join a couple of large artworks created for The Blue Cerebus
by local artist Amy Vaughn, who owns Galatea’s Art Supplies at
324 Mulberry St.
“We love to support anything local,” said Dawn Cleary, owner
of Blue Cerebus. “We’re always trying to tie in to the downtown
and the local community.”
The courtyard where the art will be displayed is a play area for dogs
and their owners. Once a year, it is the setting for a day of “dog
art” during which pets create their own artworks.
The students’ pictures will go up for display in August at The
Blue Cerebus Dog Boutique. Cleary said photos of the paintings will
be posted on the store’s Facebook profile.