Santa Paula Art Museum — We’re Just Drawn to You

Art projects and resources to inspire you and your family
Blind Contour Drawing
First and foremost, Happy Mother’s Day from the Santa Paula Art Museum! We are in awe of all of you moms who have had to embrace your creativity more than ever this year to care for your children.
This week we’ve found ourselves especially drawn to line art. Line is the foundational element in any artwork. Blind contour drawing is a really fun way to explore line and would make a great Mother’s Day activity. We love the Cincinnati Art Museum’s tutorial on how to create a blind contour drawing of your mom.
Disney How-To Draw Series
Need just a few moments to yourself, mom? Kids can learn how to draw their favorite Disney characters with video tutorials by Disney artists. They even have a playlist just for princesses!
Mother’s Day Doodle Art
Doodles by Sarah on YouTube is a great resource for learning how to doodle. Check out her tips and tricks on getting started. Kids can follow along to make a cute Mother’s Day card!
Crayon Etching
When it comes to line art, we instantly think of Santa Paula etcher Cornelis Botke (see our Museum Moment below). You can create your own etchings using oil pastels or crayons.
Zentangle
The Zentangle Method has grown popular as a way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns using simple strokes. It’s easy and incredibly relaxing!
Need more doodle inspiration? Check out these young artists who doodle on everything:
Art To-Go Bags
With such a large response to last week’s giveaway, the Museum’s education department has been hard at work to provide free Art To-Go Bags again this week! The bags containing supplies and instructions for fun art projects to do at home will be available via a drive-thru only pick up in the parking lot behind the Santa Paula Art Museum on Friday, May 8, starting at 10:00 a.m. (while supplies last – limit 5 bags per family). Please enter the parking lot from 10th street and follow the posted signs and directions from staff.
Interested in supporting the Museum’s education department? Contact us or donate today.
Try an Online Lesson
Try an online lesson by one of the Museum’s teaching artists. Choose from Mandala-Making, Comic Storytelling, and an abstract collaborative drawing project.
Save Your Spot in Class
We have some great classes planned for when the Museum reopens, and while we can’t confirm dates just yet, you can still save your spot!
The Art of Moving Free Virtual Yoga Class
Wednesday, May 13, 2020, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Our first The Art of Moving virtual class was so inspiring that we’re offering another free class! Teens and adults can join instructor Robin Briceno online for a virtual yoga and movement class streamed live from the Museum and inspired by the art currently on exhibit. The class will feature gentle Hatha yoga poses accessible for beginners and all levels of experience, followed by a guided art activity to untether your intrinsic creative flow. Grab a yoga mat if you have one, plus some paper, pens, pencil, markers or crayons. Preregistration via Zoom is required.
Museum Moment
Passing Shadows, Point Lobos, California by Cornelis Botke (1887-1954), 1923, etching on paper, 23 x 19 inches. Collection of the Santa Paula Art Museum.
Join Santa Paula Art Museum Curator of Creativity Meg Phelps for a Museum Moment: a few minutes to consider the stories behind, and the elements within artworks that we love. In this installment we look at Cornelis Botke’s etching Passing Shadows, Point Lobos, California from the Museum’s permanent collection.
Interested in learning more about line in artworks? We suggest SmartHistory.org and their excellent section “Looking at art.” In addition, Christie’s auction house provides a wonderful exploration of what etching stands for as an art form, examining the process of another master craftsman in the technique, Rembrandt.