Imaginary Landscapes

 

During this unit students learn about a variety of landscape artists such as Peter Max, Ted Harrison and Justin Vining. They discuss the different parts of a landscape artwork such as foreground, middle ground, background and horizon line. 

They also practice a variety of acrylic painting techniques before painting their design on canvas. The students love having the freedom to come up with their own imaginary design, while using practiced techniques of their choice. The final artworks are always so colorful and fun! 

Rousseau Animals

I am absolutely in love with these Grade 1 paintings! As our last unit of the school year, we focused on art history under the theme of Where We Are in Place and Time by inquiring into the central idea of understanding others inspires us.

The students were introduced to Henri Rousseau by watching a Mati and Dada video about the artist. We also read the book The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel and Amanda Hall.

They then brainstormed about animals they were interested in and chose one for their final artwork. In their sketchbooks, the students listed their chosen animal and the animal's habitat. They thought about the best lines and colors that could represent their animal's habitat in an abstract way in order to plan their background.

The background was then created with oil pastels and water colors based on their sketchbook plan. Their animal was drawn large on a separate paper and filled in with water color as well. I had a lot of scrap painted paper that had been saved through out the year, and this was used to collage extra details into their background like grass, seaweed, or flowers. Myself and the students were so impressed with their final results, I couldn't be a happier art teacher!

Special Object Paintings

Check out our Visual Arts UOI Board! This helps us to remember and refer back to our current unit of inquiry and what we are focusing on throughout our learning journey.

Grade 3 students just finished their first art unit of the year and here is an example of their section of the board:

Transdisciplinary Theme: Who We Are

Central Idea:  Developing painting skills and understanding color allows us to create 3D forms.

Lines of Inquiry: How composition can effect an art work. How to create tints, tones, and shades. How to use a paintbrush to develop different painting techniques. How to develop an artwork.

Key Concepts: Form, Connection

Focus Artists: Jessica Brilli & Wayne Thiebaud

During the first part of the unit, Grade 3 students discovered contemporary artists Jessica Brilli and Wayne Theibaud. They compared their use of color, shadow, and discussed the special objects they like to paint.

The students then brainstormed personal personal objects that are special to them and brought one item from their list to class during the next art lesson.

They then photographed their special object with their choice of background color while incorporating shadows.

Grade 3 students also did a practice still life drawing of their special object in their sketchbooks while they waited for their photos to be printed!

 

Once their photographs were ready, the students set off on a painting journey! They worked very hard drawing large, mixing colors in order to create value, and adding details to give their special object form. Grade 3 students were extra careful to use a variety of brush sizes while practicing different painting techniques along the way. The final results of their finished canvases are absolutely stunning.

Kusama Pumpkins

My PYP 3 class was introduced to the art element of value by none other than a pumpkin. Yes, a pumpkin. I love everything about pumpkins and of course the season of fall! The cool weather, bright warm colors, and the delicious pumpkin treats that range from sweet to savory...I could go on and on but enough with my pumpkin obsession...back to the lesson!

We started off the first class period with a discussion about what value is by looking for highlights and shadows on our little orange pumpkin that I had brought to class. After identifying lights and darks, I showed the students how to make a value scale by pressing harder and lighter with their pencils. I also demonstrated how to add value to a drawing by smudging the pencil marks with my fingers. The students then practiced a value scale while also working on an observational drawing in their sketchbooks.

During our next class session together I showed the students a picture of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's spotted pumpkin sculpture. We did a visible thinking routine by discussing and interpreting what the students were observing in Kusama's wonderful work. What did they see? What did they think was happening? What did they wonder about the artist? The thoughts, ideas, and questions they had were great, and made for a fantastic jumping off point for our next part of the project.

*photo credit to Google Images*

I gave the students a large piece of paper to design their own pumpkin on. Their pumpkin could have any design they chose, as long as they were drawing large and practicing mixing lights and darks to create value with their paints. Once the paintings were dry, we outlined them with permanent markers. I love the final results and how creative each student was after being inspired by Kusama's work and our class discussion!