All around us are textures ... details of things we see but don't really see, unless we look for them. A very useful exercise for art students involves finding a texture on an everyday object and sketching it as accurately as possible. This is most easily done outdoors (and it's a lot more fun), since the light is better, and there may be many interesting textures that you've walked by every day without really noticing. A pencil study of such a texture, close-up, will provide new insight into how to suggest realism in a drawing by providing accurate details to surfaces. It will also make for a pleasing design all by itself. Here are some facinating textures we found within a few minutes of the front door. You don't have to go far to discover something pleasing to draw. A fun activity is to assign each student to a certain section of a structure ... for example, the school's playground ... where they are to find an interesting texture and sketch it in pencil. Later, students exchange drawings an attempt to find the spot that has been sketched. Several classroom follow-up activities could be used after the finished work has been displayed: Examine the works of an artist: whose attention to minute detail makes his art memorable. Robert Bateman would be a good choice. who uses a small amount of texture detail to suggest a surface. Numerous examples would apply. Resources