AP Studio Art Summer Work 

Tourtellotte Memorial High School 

Mrs. Prouty 
 
Students who choose to take AP Studio Art will be required to complete ​TWO​ assignments over 
the summer and bring them in the first week of school as a grade. Students who do not complete 
these assignments will receive a zero and will still be expected to complete them as part of their 
portfolio work throughout the year. Please refer to the course description and syllabus provided 
to you with this packet to understand what this course will include over the next year.  
 
 
ASSIGNMENT 1:​ ​Keep a Visual/Art Journal for the summer:  
Your visual journal is a personal creative book that enables you to personalize and document your 
discovery, development, and educational journey. Include: Sketches and rough ideas. Composed, 
finish artwork.​ ​Sketches are defined as, “in the moment” drawings, painting, etc drawn from direct 
observation. ​You can use any medium you’d like, watercolor, pen, pencil etc. Have fun with your 
journal, make it unique, make it yours and be inspired! You should come in with your journal ​at 
least half way full ​of sketches, doodles, finished work, work from observation, experiments etc... 
 
How can you find inspiration for your visual journal? 
- Bring it with you to the beach, vacation, to a museum, a gallery etc. 
- Look up artists whose work you admire.  
- Collect original photographs of things, places, people to use in your work 
- Visit a gallery or museum for inspiration- sketch what you see- write down part of an 
artist's statement that resonated with you.  
- Think outside of your comfort zone- try something new! 
- Collect any writings, articles, etc that you like and may want to use to help you come up 
with an idea.  
- Look online at visual journal ideas (there are TONS of ideas and examples). I will be sending 
you resources as the summer goes on.  
- Pick a theme to stick with for your journal for the summer. 
 
 
ASSIGNMENT 2:​ Select a work of art from a modern artist (living) and write an analysis of one of 
their artworks using the guide attached​.  
This is a formal written analysis and should be typed and written using proper grammar, spelling 
and punctuation. Attach a photo of their work with the writing. This can be emailed or shared with 
me on Google Docs.  
 
If you have any questions about any assignments or any requirements of this course, please do not 
hesitate to email me, I will be able to answer your questions over the summer.  
Can’t wait to see you all next year! 
 
bprouty@thompsonpublicschools.org 
Instagram- @tmhs_art 
Twitter- @BMProuty 
 Analyzing Art 
Formal Written Analysis  

These questions are only a guide to help you to learn to look at art in a critical way, there are many 
different ways to look at artwork and form opinions. This guide is for writing a formal analysis of 
an artwork and helps you to think critically about visual art.  
 
Always include the title, artist and date of the work that you are describing when you start your 
essay (the title may be crucial to understanding the work) .  
 
 
1. Describe (Look, Identify) 
● What do you see in the artwork? 
● What is happening in this artwork? 
● What is the genre? (Still life, portrait, landscape etc) 
● Your descriptions should be detailed enough that If I closed my eyes and tried to picture 
the work you are describing, I should be able to.  
 
2. Analyze: Formal Elements 
● What is the focal point of the image? 
● Describe the Elements and Principles of Design you see and how they were used. 
(Movement, line, color, unity etc) 
● What composition tools did they use? 
 
3. Interpret (Figuring out meaning) 
● What do you think the artist is saying through this work? 
● How do you know that? What specific clues provide evidence? 
● What is the most important part of this artwork? Why? 
● How does this work make you feel? 
 
4. Evaluate (Forming a judgement) 
● Is this piece of art a quality work? Why? 
● How does it compare to other works you may have seen? 
● Is this artist successful? Why? 
● Do you like this piece? Why or why not? 
● What do you dislike about this work? Why?