Artist Spotlight: Sol Felpeto + Art Project: Picasso Pet Art, Build Your Masterpiece Class, Week 3

This Artist Spotlight + Art Project is part of the 3rd week of the Build Your Masterpiece Class, an Art & Literature-based curriculum plan, where you and your kids will Read, Paint + Cook Your Way Through Europe.  Click here to learn more about Build Your Masterpiece Class which is Scissors & Glue’s Brand New Art & Literature-based curriculum plan for you and your kids in your in homeschool.

Artist Spotlight: Sol Felpeto

Today we are reading a very lovely storybook, called "Picasso and Minou" by P.L. Maltbie, and this is a true story about Picasso and his pet cat, Minou. This story has been a huge inspiration to me, and my children that I simply had to include it in our masterpiece class. But, we are also going to learn about another Artist who loved this story too, and found her inspiration for her amazing art from it! Our Artist Spotlight today is on the Multicultural Abstract Artist, Sol Felpeto, who has been inspired by both Picasso and his pet cat, Minou! Let's get to know her a little more...Sol Felpeto was born in 1990, in Venezuela and her family settled in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2001, after many moves with her father's work. As she grew up and finished high school, she learned many skills, such as horseback riding, and jewelry design. She was attracted to art around that time, even though she had been studying Veterinary Medicine, she decided that she needed to listen to her heart, and go with her creative rush, and in 2012 she traveled back to Madrid to begin studying Fashion Design.  Her time spent deep in the study of creative art, she learned how to paint and illustrate. She soon created her own style, mixing her love of animals, in with her art and after graduation in June 2016, she had her very own Art Exhibition in Madrid, where she accompanied other emerging Spanish Artists. That is where she began her path into art. It is a beautiful and exciting story of a young girl following her dreams, listening to her heart, and letting the flow of her interests guide her.Sol paints the most beautiful art, with vibrate colors, stories to tell, and she uses a lot of the cubism style as well. She loves to paint animals, and her true message is about connecting animals with art and telling real stories about them. She does school workshops, guided tours of her art, and loves to share her journey. You can find out more about her on her Instagram Account, her website, and her Facebook Page.If you recall the book we just read earlier today, do you remember the part in which Picasso had no food for the cat and had to let him go? What happened? Did the cat Minou listen to Picasso? No, he didn't, he ended up going out, and found a fish and came back to Picasso, so they both could eat together. This story is very touching and so special. Like many of you, Sol too loved this story, and she uses that as her inspiration while she paints with her vibrant colors, retelling this beautiful story, and at the same time, giving thanks to this lovely pet who's bond with Picasso was unbreakable.

"The whole "Picatsso" project is about Minou, it all started with the "Guernicat" but I expanded the idea of making a homage to Minou to many paintings of Picasso." ~ Sol Felpeto

Let's have a look at her beautiful Painting of the Cat Minou, Fishing:

“Cats fishing at Guernica” 110X55 cm, acrylic on canvas.The vibrate colors, and patterns, as well as the story being told in this painting, set with a deep black of the night background, takes me back to the story of Minou being let loose in the night, in search of his own path, for Picasso felt he had nothing left to give him. And yet, we all know that Minou's desire to please his owner was incredibly strong, and he actually brought the food back to him.  

 Can you see how she has been inspired by Picasso? In what ways can you tell?

Sol explains, that Picasso did not paint Minou, and the only the photo of them together, is the one below, when Picasso was young, living in Paris, and struggling to become a famous painter. Because of this, he would paint paintings of rich people, and other things, but no cats. Nevertheless, when he was important enough, he started painting whatever he wanted, and at that time he did have other pets, cats and dogs, and all through his career he did paint animals. Because he never did paint Minou, Sol feels strongly, the need to paint about Minou, paying homage to him.

"People want simple and real things with a story behind it, not just beautiful or manipulated." ~ Sol Felpeto

Watch Sol Felpeto at work in her home art studio with her cat:

Check out Sol painting, and enjoying her time in her studio with her cat, and beautiful cat paintings, all inspired by the lovely bond between animal and owner, and of course, Picasso:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5CSGaexijA

When asked what advise she has for any young artists, she said "Work hard everyday, and be inspired by the things you like or make you feel something special. Don't create things just because of it's aethetic or because it's the cool. Don't be scared of showing your inspirations as much as you think it's silly or embarrasing." ~ Sol Felpeto

It has been a huge pleasure of mine that I have gotten to know Sol, and discuss what inspires her, and her artwork. Her positivity, strength of character and sense of knowing what she likes, no matter what is a huge inspiration to me, and I'm sure to any young person interested in pursuing art as a career or simply learning more about art.

Art Project: Picasso Pet Art

Today, we are going to paint pictures of our pets or animals that we love. Let's use what we have now learned about this week on Cubism for self-portraits and create one of our PETS! Let's be inspired by Picasso and Minou, and also from Sol Felpeto, and her beautiful cat paintings! We are also going to mix our PRIMARY Colors to get SECONDARY Colors. I have included a really fun and catchy song to help teach your kids all about mixing primary and secondary colors below, so be sure to check that out if you need to!

Think about a pet you have, or a pet you wish someday you might have, or any animal you just simply think is awesome. How do you want to show your love and adoration for your pet today in your artwork?

Supplies Needed:

• Pencil
• Eraser
• Watercolor Paper, cut into 5" x 7" inches
• Black Construction paper
• Glue Stick
• Black Marker
• Tempera Paints, Blue, Yellow and Red (Primary Colors to mix into secondary Colors)
• Paint Pallet
• Container of water
• Paper towel

Watch this Art Lesson Tutorial: Drawing + Painting a Cubism Pet

It is a dog in the Tutorial, however, you can do any animal, once you get the basic technique down, and for younger children, simply have them try mixing the colors, and paint their pet, or animal they love, however they can.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slYX1OUKuhIMethod:

1. Cut your watercolor paper into a small 5"x7" piece. (For younger children, use a larger piece of paper)
2. Take your pencil and start to draw your abstract pet. The video tutorial is a drawing of a dog, but if you have a cat or hamster, you can simply draw them as well. Use this as a guide.
3. Start by drawing your EYE, anywhere on the page. Turn the page.
4. Then, draw your second Eye, anywhere else on the page, but this time draw it a lot bigger. Turn your page.
5. Then draw your pet's nose. Turn your page.
6. Draw an EAR. Turn your page.
7. Draw a Tounge. Turn your page.
8. Now draw its FOOT.
9. Now you have a lot of parts of your pet, and you get to connect them together to build its body.
10. From here, you can add any other parts like a tail, legs, etc. You can also feel free to change any of this. You go with the flow of this abstract art and its shapes. Add in the lines to divide your colors on the body of your pet.
11. Now we can start painting:
12. Take your paint pallet, and pour out your red, yellow and blue paint.
13. First Color to mix, is YELLOW and a little bit of RED to make ORANGE.
14. Take your paintbrush with Orange, and choose a part of your pet to be orange. There could be a few places.
15. Next Color to mix is YELLOW + BLUE to make GREEN. Start with a lot of Yellow, and add in a little bit of BLUE. Mix up enough paint that you will need to paint your picture with.
16. The last Color to mix is RED  and BLUE to make PURPLE. Start with Red, and add a little bit of blue, to make your purple.
17. Use this purple for the background, and paint it all around your pet, to give a nice contrast between the light colors, and the darker purple.
18. Try using a medium to large sized brush. It will help you finish more quickly, and you can see your strokes a lot easier.
19. When your painting is complete, allow for it to dry.
20. When it is dry, take your black marker, and trace the outlines of your pet!
21. When this is done, you can flip over your paper, and take your glue stick and put glue on the edges, and corners and a little bit in the middle, and place your painting on top of your black construction paper, as centered as you can!
22. While it dries, we want it to be very flat, and not curl up. Place a heavy book on top while it dries!
23. Hang up your art, and share with us on Instagram #buildyourmasterpiececlass 

Learn about Primary Colors + Secondary Colors:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAGpIE-5G38 I hope you all are enjoying your time with Build Your Masterpiece Class and if you are at this Art Project, it means you are in Paris, learning so many lovely things! Congratulations! I wish you the best of luck with Reading, Painting and Cooking your way through Europe with your kids! Please share your experience by using the hashtag #buildyourmasterpiececlass and you may be featured on my Instagram feed!Till next time,Breathe Deeply and enjoy building your masterpiece with scissors and glue,~Alexandra