A new website that will allow primary schools to explore works of art without visiting a gallery has been launched by the Gracefield Arts Centre in Dumfries. Exploreart.co.uk will eventually comprise up to 500 of the paintings, prints and drawings in the Gracefield Galleries collection.
Fifty works by Scottish artists or artists connected with the area already feature on the site, which has been designed to help primary schools in more remote areas to introduce their pupils to art. Pupils and teachers can now examine pictures by Joan Eardley, Anne Redpath, Alan Davie, John Bellany and Elizabeth Blackadder, among other Scottish A-listers. There are mini-biographies of artists, giving details of their techniques and materials and what artistic category they come under. The site also includes a step-by-step art activity sheet on how to create a simple monoprint portrait in the classroom.
www.exploreart.co.uk
