A Character for Characters Starring Dominic By Emily Wamsley August 10, 2010

I watched Dominic create his art work with a great amount of enthusiasm. I also watched him create the things he loves : characters from his favorite stories, movies, and toys. On the first night, Dominic sat down at the workshop table and was quiet for about minute. He was deciding what to draw. It didn’t take him long to come up with his idea of drawing an eight headed monster named Hydra from a movie. Once he knew what he was drawing, there was no stopping him. He quickly worked filling the whole page with his monster. I learned a lot about the Hydra that night. As Dominic drew on the claws, spikes, sharp teeth and other monster details he told me, “The Hydra spits poison and breathes fire!” After drawing, we began to paint. Again, Dominic was excited to take part in the activities. He mixed paint with flair!

Adding sound effects and taking a dramatic pose made mixing paint more exciting. He continued to practice his artistic skills by creating more characters. He experimented with different shades of gray to paint a LEGO rock monster and a large gem.

The second week, I watched Dominic study his shoe and include many of its details in his drawing. Although he wasn’t as eager to do this activity, he did it with great focus and success. When finished with his shoe, Dominic happily drew another character. He ended the workshop by making a Light Bike out of wire from the movie Tron Legacy.

Week three, Dominic was back for more fun. I was very interested to see that he had brought a book of Pokémon characters to study and recreate. He studied the pictures noticing details, just as he did with his shoe. The character he was drawing was the same Pokémon from week two.

Week two - Pen drawingWeek three - Oil pastels

What it Means Dominic, it was my pleasure to get a glimpse of your personality during the past four weeks. It didn’t take long for me to see your fun, animated personality pop out right from the beginning. You have a great ability to have fun and entertain yourself while you work. Your love of characters has given you an eye for detail. You can create them from your memory or look at a picture to capture all the details. You are able to convey all the things you like through your art work. I hope you will continue to practice your art skills of drawing, painting and sculpting.

Opportunities and Possibilities Dominic should be encouraged to continue to practice recreating the things he loves. With each attempt, his skills are being refined. Using modeling or baking clay while looking at pictures or figures would be a fun challenge. Mixing different mediums would also be a fun way to explore art. Adding watercolor to a pen drawing can make a bold piece of art. A drama class or camp would be another way for Dominic to express himself.