Feed My Sheep text

It was a very exciting day when Feed My Sheep: A comprehensive ART Curriculum arrived. The spiral bound book is a 4-year art program, complete with lessons and space to work within the lessons. The author Barry Stebbing writes clear instructions throughout the program.

Feed My Sheep is a Christian art program to learn to draw God’s Creation. Barry Stebbing makes it a point to remind young artists of the beauty and symmetry created by God. Mr. Stebbing, a well-known art teacher, travels across the country presenting three-day art courses for homeschool students. He developed the curriculum in response to the enthusiasm he saw in homeschoolers.

The program begins with examining and exploring color using colored pencils. The next section is pencil drawing, starting with simple line drawing and progressing to still life. This portion may be a year’s worth of lessons.

Section Three focuses on perspective with rules and measurements. By following the rules of space it’s possible to create a representation of distance and speed. Students will enjoy the different tasks and systematic method of learning how to draw. Moving from the perspective of distance to the perspective of size, the topics of Portraits and Anatomy fill a large portion of year two.

By the third year following the Stebbing’s method, young artists will be quite accomplished. Resuming with a Nature study, these lessons are the perfect reminder of God’s love for his creation. Each flower holds the perfection of God’s plan. Thoughtful artists will be reminded of God’s perfect love for us.

The second part of the third year, along with the fourth year include penmanship, art appreciation, academic drawing and painting. In my estimation, penmanship and art appreciation offer excellent learning opportunities. These are shorter than the first sections.

Penmanship is more than just writing. Mr. Stebbing explains and provides examples of illuminated initials, circumstances where artists must include verse or poems within their drawing as well as nice legible writing.

Academic Drawing includes art as well as adding scientific labels. For example drawing horse anatomy includes drawing the outline of a horse as well as the bones or organs within. Academic artists must be able to draw an accurate representation of the inside of a horse and label the parts as well.

The final section, Painting, pulls from all the prior lessons, completing the 4-year course. By this time the artist should be comfortable with drawing and perspective, so the attention and effort is on paint.

Review Exams are at the end of each section and the answers are given at the back of the book.

I was very excited to find this curriculum to be as comprehensive as it is. The lessons are progressively more detailed and it’s possible to pace the lessons to allow for enough practice for the artist to feel they’re really grasped the concepts and developed the skill before moving forward.

Editor's note: Feed My Sheep is also available in a Bundle Package, containing the text and necessary art supplies, and a DVD Bundle with supplemental course DVDs and art supplies. The DVD set,art supplies, and paint cards are also available separately.