Pennington has reimagined the concept of a summer class with a brand new offering this year entitled Art I: Drawing Foundations. The four-week course, which began last month, grants Art I credit for rising students in Grades 10, 11, and 12 and featured a thrilling international travel component that truly sets the program apart. 

Class began within a familiar setting: the Pennington School campus. Under the instruction of faculty member Jamie Moore, students explored the concepts and techniques required for creating compelling compositions. With a strong emphasis on using observational practices to craft grounded and lifelike images, students learned about a variety of drawing methods, such as visual measurement, negative space analysis, chiaroscuro, and jigsaw. 

With that drawing foundation established, the students shifted gears for the second half of the program with a two-week European excursion to France! The group split their time between the picturesque town of Loches and its surrounding regions and Paris. Saint Denis International School in Loches served as the initial homebase for the group, but with so much beauty to explore in the region, the “classroom” was an ever-shifting space amid breathtaking pastoral hills, architectural marvels, and quaint village wonders, such as the dungeon of a small medieval castle, the workshop of an 85-year old printmaker, and endless fields of sunflowers.

Celebrated for its world-renowned museums, Paris is an ideal destination for any student of art. Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre, Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre, Musée de l'Orangerie, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, and Notre Dame Cathedral were just a few of the illustrious landmarks on the group's itinerary, and they even managed to fit in an evening boat cruise along the Seine River. Armed with travel sketchbooks and a newly-sharpened eye for detail, students were eager to use their skills to capture the essence of each destination. After such a successful excursion, there is little doubt that summer classes like these could become a yearly offering.