Topic: “Light and Shadow in Domestic Interiors”
Medium: Charcoal on paper (or digital painting)
Part 1 – Reference Study (20% of grade):
Choose one interior scene by Johannes Vermeer, Georges de La Tour, or Edward Hopper. Create a small (4”x6”) value study directly copying a 2”x2” section of their work. Cite the artwork fully on the back.
Part 2 – Original Composition (70% of grade):
Draw a corner of your own room at night, with one single light source (lamp, phone screen, window). Use the light logic from your chosen master, but change the objects and perspective.
Part 3 – Citation & Reflection (10% of grade):
Attach a handwritten or typed note answering:
Whenever you save a reference image for your homework, rename the file immediately. homework art class cite
Then, use a free citation manager like Zotero or EasyBib (Art section) to store the URL, artist name, and date.
Art homework is rarely graded on "beauty." It is graded on effort, completion, and specific criteria (Did you use hatching? Did you fill the page?).
If you did the work, tried a new technique, and wrote a short reflection ("I struggled with the eye, but I like the nose"), you have earned an A. Now go make a mess.
Need more prompts? Search for "observational drawing" or "sketchbook challenges" for thousands of free resources. Topic: “Light and Shadow in Domestic Interiors” Medium:
To cite artwork for your homework, you typically need the artist's name, the title of the work, the date it was created, the medium used, and its current location. The specific order and punctuation depend on whether your teacher requires MLA or APA style. MLA Style (9th Edition)
MLA is common for art and humanities classes. The title of the artwork is always italicized.
Work Cited Entry: Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork. Date, Museum/Collection, City.
Example: Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889, Museum of Modern Art, New York. Then, use a free citation manager like Zotero
Image Caption: If you include the image in your paper, label it "Fig. 1" followed by the First Name Last Name, Title, Date, Medium.
Online Source: If you found the art on a website, add the website name in italics and the URL at the end. APA Style (7th Edition)
APA is often used for social sciences or education-focused art classes. It uses sentence case for titles (only the first word and proper nouns capitalized). MLA 9th ed. Artwork & Image Citation - Image Use & Citation
A Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph: An item that you see in person will have this information in the citation: * Artist's name ( Mississippi State University MLA Style Guide 9th Edition: Original Artwork - Library