See The Light Art Projects-Sunflowers

See The Light
Art Projects
Sunflowers in the Style of Van Gogh
Ages: 10 and up
Price: $14.99, with discount options

See The Light offers Art Instruction Products that draw children's hearts to the Savior. From the website,

With a love for the Lord Jesus Christ, a heart for children, and a passion for ministry, Dave and Pat Holt bring you the SEE THE LIGHTteam: 

ARTISTS with specialties that include teaching a large variety of techniques, art history, chalk artistry, performance art, gospel chalk art (with black light), crafts, creative lettering, and more; 

MUSICIANS whose talents include songwriting, musical performance, arranging, and producing. 

The SEE THE LIGHT team is dedicated to bringing scripture and biblical principles to viewers in a fresh, engaging way. . . and promising to teach some exciting art skills along the way!

With that as the background to the materials, I was EXCITED to jump right in!  We selected the Sunflowers Lesson in the Style of Vincent Van Gogh and waited for it to arrive! When we received our DVD and went off and got what we needed...which for this particular project was not very much...a sheet of pastel paper, a set of oil pastels, paper towels or napkins, an artificial sunflower and wipes.  I think we spent around $10 for everything we got (We had some pastels and got another inexpensive set and the Sunflowers were on a DEEP DISCOUNT...got two nicer ones for about $1.50).  Materials vary from project to project and are clearly noted both on the website and on the DVD cover.  Lessons in the Art Projects line include:

DRAW A WINDOW IN THE STYLE OF LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY

- DRAW A WATERCOLOR PAINTING IN THE STYLE OF AMERICAN POP ARTIST WAYNE THIEBAUD

- CREATE A PAPER COLLAGE IN THE STYLE FRENCH ARTIST HENRI ROUSSEAU

- CREATE A FRUIT STILL LIFE IN THE STYLE OF FRENCH ARTIST GEORGES SEURAT

- CREATE AN ABSTRACT FLOWER IN THE STYLE OF AMERICAN ARTIST GEORGIA O’KEEFFE

- CREATE AN ACRYLIC OR TEMPERA PAINTING IN THE STYLE OF RUSSIAN ARTIST MARC CHAGALL

- DRAW A CHALK PASTEL IN THE STYLE OF FRENCH ARTIST EDGAR DEGAS

- PAINT A WATERCOLOR SEASCAPE IN THE STYLE OF AMERICAN ARTIST WINSLOW HOMER

- CREATE AN OIL PASTEL SUNFLOWER IN THE STYLE OF DUTCH ARTIST VINCENT VAN GOGH

So, MY plan was to have my children work on the lessons, one at a time...spreading it out between 2-4 days.  Lessons are ABOUT 30 minutes long ( I say ABOUT, because there is quite a bit of pausing that happens as your child draws.).  Well, my children were SO INTO the project, they did all four lessons back to back...so we had ART DAY, which was fine with me for that day...just letting you know in case your children are tempted to do the same and it does not work in your schedule for that particular day.  This project was for children aged 10 and up, which is THE PERFECT AGE...I let my 7 year old do it as well and he was OFTEN frustrated...I think his drawing looked WONDERFUL but he was not happy with it when compared to his siblings..

Pat Knepley is the instructor for this project and I loved the way she interacts as she instructs.  She gives TIDBITS about Vincent Van Gogh's life and works.  She does not give a complete history, but little feels for the artist as you work alongside her in that artist's style of art.  It whets the appetite for more and your child may decide he or she wants to know more.  As she is instructing, Pat talks about Van Gogh's spiritual life and adds Scripture that is relevant to what is happening in the lesson.  I LOVED the very natural way that I saw this put into place...it is more than art...These products point to the Savior!

The Project we chose was broken down into 4 lessons: Planning the Composition, Detail the Petals and Leaves, Fill in the Negative Space, Shadows and Highlights.  Each lesson was VERY CLEARLY laid out.  My children were able to understand what they were supposed to do.  While I thought that the video quality  and  instruction were excellent, it would have been nice to get some views from straight on  a little more, so the student would see the artwork from the angle they were working from.  There were some views from that angle, but not as close up as I would have liked...often you are viewing the sample work from the side.  Throughout the instruction, there are tips and reminders of what to do as well as taking care of your supplies or protecting your project from smears (we were working with Oil Pastels and there were cautions for little pieces on your page and reminders to clean your hands from time to time so as NOT to add color where you didn't want it.)

Well, I do have to say, I LOVED See The Light Art Projects.  I was BLOWN away by the work my children produced in such a SHORT time and they had fun and would LOVE TO DO MORE.  As I mentioned above, you can get each project for $14.99, or the set of 9 for $99.99, but there is also a subscription option where you get one of the Art Projects lessons sent to you each month for $12.50...I LOVE that and I think I am going to sign up for that option.  See the Light Art Projects Lessons can be used for a Fine Arts High School Credit and there is a PDF on the website detailing a possible lesson plan for both a half credit and full credit option.
Here are some of our Pictures:

Rough Sketching the composition of the drawing

After Lesson One- The Princess

After Lesson 1- The 'Nager

After Lesson 1- DD

Filling in the Negative Spaces- Princess

Filling in the Negative Spaces- DD

Yippee for ART DAY!

Filling in the Negative Spaces- The 'Nager

The 'Nager's final project...The Princess gave her drawing away...so no final picture of hers...I think DD crumbled his up, but you can see most of it in the picture above.

Do you have younger children you would like to have art instruction too?   The Bible Stories DVD set may be just the thing for you.  I have not tried it, but it looks fantastic!  Here you can view a short video on About The Light and one that is a Conversation between Pat and a homeschool mom and mostly covers the Art Class series, but touches on all three product lines.  I LOVED what Pat said in this video, " You really can't separate the Master Creator, God, from learning about art and how to draw."

Not sure if See the Light is for you...well, here are some resources to look at:
Blog
Free Lessons
Downloads
Video Tips

See what other reviewers had to say about See The Light Art Projects here