Thiebaud-Inspired Dessert Drawings

Cakes, by Wayne Thiebaud

The students in grades 4-6 are studying work by Wayne Thiebaud.  They have been working on the use of value in artwork to improve realism, and we began by drawing and shading cylinders, spheres, cones and triangular solids.  These geometric forms can be found in the desserts that Thiebaud uses as subjects in his work.  The students began with a shape, turned it into a form using shading, and then used oil pastels to fill in color.  They had to try several times in some cases, but eventually they are all finding how to get light, medium and dark values in their work.  They added bright colors to the shadows in their drawings, and kept the other colors muted.  The backgrounds were kept muted to make the desserts stand out, and they tried to keep one fixed light source.  My goal is for all the students to finish at least one drawing that meets the class goals.  So far, there are some great examples!

Analiz, Grade 4

Alex, Grade 4

Amir, Grade 5

Mason's Cake

Adrian, Grade 4

Lawrence, Grade 6

Shamar, Grade 6

Monica, Grade 4

Quin, Grade 4

Olivia, Grade 4

Lily, Grade 4