Chuck Close Portraits





By Amber, 2011



Year 3 student, 2011


Lesson Background:

I got the idea for this lesson from the art blog:  "Art Projects for Kids" http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/2007/12/chuck-close-self-portrait.html
I have changed a few things though:  I did not use photos as a base for the artworks- we just drew in faces.  Also, I asked my students to use progressos rather than normal pencils, textas or crayons, to make these portraits really stand out.

Lesson Steps:

1.  Talk about the artist, Chuck Close.  I used a PowerPoint presentation with a brief biography and photos of some of his artworks.  Discuss his style and techniques. 
2.  Provide students with a sheet of A4 grid paper.

3.  Demonstrate how to draw a face, neck and shoulders onto the grid paper (use helpful measurement information such as, 3 squares from the left and 2 squares down, start drawing the side of the head, following the line, etc).

4.  Show students how to draw in eyes, nose and mouth. 
5.  Ask the students to outline their drawing with black progresso when they are happy with it.
6.  Ask the students to colour in the lips red/pink and the eyes in whatever colour their own eyes are.
7.  Revise the concept of warm and cool colours.  Tell the children they will choose 2 warm colours for the face/ears/neck, 1 warm and 1 cool colour for the shirt (stick to light colours that stand out), and 2 cool darker colours for the background. 
8.  Remind the students of how Chuck Close filled each grid square with patterns and shapes.  Brainstorm ideas for patterns and shapes they could use in each of their squares.
9.  Send the children back to begin their artworks.
10.  When all the colouring is done (make sure they press firmly and leave no white gapes), the students can go over the black outlines.
11.  Back the artworks on black cardboard.

Year 3 Student Artworks:




By Andrea G, 2011

 

By Charlotte, 2011





Year 3 student, 2011

 

Year 3 student, 2011


 

By Denzelle, 2011




Year 3 student, 2011





By Nomvula. 2011

   

By Parth, 2011



  

some of the 3B artworks,2011





Year 3 student artwork, 2011



Desert Cactus Oil Pastel Drawings

3B Desert drawings, 2010

Lesson Background:

I designed this art lesson as a part of an Integrated Studies unit of work on animal and plant adaptations.  We had been learning about desert environments and the adaptations of desert plants, including the cactus.  I went searching for cactus artworks on Google Images and found a few beautiful ones that I showed the students.  From these images, I designed the layout of this artwork.

Lesson Steps:

1.  Students were given an A4 sheet of white art paper.
2.  With the students at their desks and me at the board demonstrating step-by-step, I drew in 2 mountain shapes in the foreground.  I then drew in 1 large mountain in the background.  The students followed, creating whatever shapes for the mountains that they liked best (I did tell them that the cactus would be on the left side of the paper, so they would need to put the interesting shapes and curves of their mountains on the right hand side of the paper).
3.  I then drew the basic cactus shape on the left side of the paper (I explained that it was like a column with a rounded top- like a long upside-down 'U' shape.  I also suggested they start their cactus shape approximately 2 finger spaces from the left, to have it stop about 2 finger spaces from the top of the page and about halfway across the paper).
4.  I asked the students to colour nearly the whole sky in yellow oil pastel (leaving just a strip of 2-3 finger spaces blank at the top).  I then asked them to colour the blank strip in red oil pastel.  after this, I showed them how to use orange oil pastel to mix through the bottom of the red and down into the yellow, to create a 3-toned sunset in the sky.
5.  I then demonstrated how to colour the mountains in the foreground.  We started by colouring the whole mountain with dark blue oil pastel.  I then showed the students how to use dark purple and navy to show the shadows and how to use light blue to show the ligher areas.
6.  For the background mountains, we covered them in red oil pastel and then used purple for the shadows and a little orange oil pastel for the lighter areas.
7.  After this we were ready to start on the cactus.  I showed them how to draw in long, pointy, slightly wavy strips all over the cactus.  I explained how most of the right side of the cactus would be light green (where the sunset was shining) and most of the left side of the cactus would be dark green (in the shadows).  In between, would be mostly filled with other light colours (pale blue and yellow strips) on the right side, and mostly darker colours (dark blue, navy blue, dark purple) on the left side.  I demonstrated how to do this and explained the importance of leaving no gaps.
8.  When the picture was complete, I showed the students how to use the sharp edge of a white oil pastel to draw small spines going around the outside of their cactus.  I then showed them how to create lines of spines inside the cactus as well. (I had originally tried to do the spines by just scraping away lines in the oil pastel, but I found it didn't show up very well- you couldn't see them unless you were right in front of the artworks!)

Year 3 Artworks:

Year 3 artworks, 2010

Keith Haring Moving Figures

some my Year 3 students' artworks, 2010

Lesson Background:

I designed this activity based on an idea I got from the Deep Space Sparkle website: http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2008/06/keith-haring-inspired-ceramic-mural/
My class was studying a unit of work on healthy lifestyles, including exercise, self-esteem, friendships and relationships.  The unit seemed to be summed up nicely through Keith Haring's art.

Lesson Steps:

1.  We read an edited, child-friendly biography of Keith Haring's life.
2.  I showed the students a range of his artworks on the class interactive whiteboard and we discussed his art style, his use of line, colour, shape, movement and what he was trying to communicate in his artworks (love, tolerance, unity etc).
3.  We talked about how he showed movement through the use of movement lines.
4.  I gave the students some pictures of Keith Haring's artworks to look at and to help them draw their own moving figure/s.  For those that were struggling to draw their own figure, I allowed them to trace up to half of the body from one of the Keith Haring's figures I had given them.  They then had to draw in the rest themselves.
5.  The students then traced or copied their figure/s onto coloured brenex paper. 
6.  I then asked the students to consider what shapes or blocks of colour they would like in the background.  We re-looked at Keith Haring backgrounds and talked about how he used images like hearts, simple shapes and strips of colour.  The children then designed their own background, cut it out of coloured Brenex paper and stuck down their background and figure/s on a sheet of A4 card.
7.  We then came back together on the floor and experimented with drawing movement lines on figures I had drawn on the whiteboard.  Gradually we worked out together, where these lines should go and how to draw them best.  We decided they looked like "rainbows" and "curved around" the part of the body that was moving.
6.  The children went back to their desks and then drew movement lines onto their artworks (I suggested between 2 and 4 sets per figure).  They did this in lead pencil first and then when they were satisfied with them, they traced over the lines in black texta.
7.  I then asked the students to trace around the outside of their figures in black texta to make them stang out.

Year 3 Artworks, 2010:




3B artworks (we tried multiple figures in 2009)



Sample artwork I made to help guide the class

Watercolour Pencil Still Lifes



Year 3 student artwork by Jasmine, 2010

 Lesson Background:

I found the gorgeous still life watercolour painting that these artworks are based on through Google Images.  I was looking for some fruit bowl pictures my class could turn into their own artworks during their Health unit on Nutrition and the Healthy Food Plate.  I ended up choosing the artwork below from the Fine Art America website, due to its vibrant colours, use of shading and beautiful shapes.

Original artwork from Fine Art America:

Lesson Steps:

1.  I showed the students the original artwork.
2.  We discussed it's use of shape, line, light and shade and colour.
3.  I demonstrated how to draw each element of the picture step-by-step.  The students followed me, drawing with lead pencil on A4 art paper.  I made sure to use spacing information (e.g. 4 finger spaces up and 2 from the left) and shape information (e.g. this line is a J shape or this line is in the shape of a back-to-front C). 
4.  After the students and I completed the drawing, I brought the children to the floor and demonstrated how to use watercolour pencils.
5.  I then demonstrated how to show light (lighter colours/tones or white) and shade (darker colours/tones) and where the light and shade should go and why.
6.  I then sent the students back to colour in and then "paint" their artworks with watercolour pencils.

Year 3 Student Artworks:



By Maryam, 2010




By Hannah, 2010




Yeat 3 student, 2010



By Ella, 2010



By Alex, 2010




By Year 3 student, 2010




By Oliver, 2010




3B artworks, 2010



Matisse-Style Name Panels

Year 3 artwork by Oliver, 2010



Lesson Background:

I got the idea for this art lesson from my favourite Internet art blog: Deep Space Sparkle
http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2008/09/matisse-inspired-name-panels/

Lesson Steps:

1.  Teach the students about Henri Matisse- who he was, what type of art he produced, the features of his artworks etc.  (You can purchase the PowerPoint presentation I made for this part of the lesson at my Teachers Pay Teachers store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Baker- just search for the name of the artist)
2.  Ask the students to design their name in an interesting way (do this on scrap paper first).  Their name should use interesting mixtures of lines (e.g. zigzag, wavy and straight lines)
3.  Ask the students to design a background of coloured panels or shapes on their scrap paper.
4.  When their design is complete, students can trace or copy each piece of their design onto coloured Brenex paper (glossy type looks best).
5.  Students cut out their designs and stick them onto an A4 sheet of card.
6.  When everything is stuck on, I asked the students to "paint" over their design with PVA glue to make it shiny.

Year 3 Student Artwork Samples:

By Robert, 2010



By Cadel, 2010

 

By Neve, 2010





3B class artworks, 2010

Coloured Chameleons

Year 3 drawing, 2010

The Lesson:

I designed this art activity for a unit of work the Year 3/4 students were doing about animal and plant adaptations.  My class had been doing an animal study on chameleons and had been learning about how they can change colours not only to camouflage into their environment, but also to reflect their mood and temperature.

Lesson Steps:

1.  We first looked at many images and videos of chameleons.  We found a YouTube video that showed a chameleon changing colour and discussed the different reasons for these colour changes.  We also looked at the wide range of colours and patterns chameleons could display.
2.  We read and looked at 2 picture books about chameleons:  "The Mixed up Chameleon" by Eric Carle and "Chameleons are Cool" by Martin Jenkins.
3.  We also looked at photos of the different plants that would be in the environment of a rainforest chameleon.  I had also created a PowerPoint presentation filled with photos of chameleons and plants of differing colours to assist the students with ideas for their drawings.
4.  Using the images from my PowerPoint presentation, as well as clipart images and drawings of chameleons I had placed on each table group, the students drew their chameleons and plants onto white A4 art paper.  I encouraged them to have a range of shapes, sizes and styles of plants in the background.
5.  For students who struggled to draw their own chameleon, I allowed them to trace the head of the chameleon off one of the pictures provided on their desks.  From that point, they were then encouraged to complete the rest of the chameleon's body themselves.  This allowed all students to create a successful chameleon drawing.
6.  After the drawings were completed, I handed out coloured progressos and the students coloured in their drawings.  I explained the importance of pressing firmly with the progressos and ensuring there were no gaps or "messy bits" in their colouring.
7.  When their pictures were fully coloured, I asked them to outline each part of their drawing with a black progresso.

Year 3 Chameleon Drawings:



Year 3 student, 2010




By Ella, 2010




3B Chameleon Drawings, 2010



By Mathew, 2010

Aboriginal Hand Print Art



By Ella, 2010


The Lesson:

This lesson idea is thanks to my wonderful teaching colleague, Mrs Vince.  We had been studying a unit of work on the British colonisation of Australia, including Aboriginal perspectives and experiences.  This piece of artwork was created after studying the lives of Australian Aboriginal people before the British colonisation of Australia.

Lesson Steps:

1.  I used a PowerPoint presentation and a number of Internet websites to look at what life was like for Australian Aboriginal people before British colonisation.  We examined Aboriginal artworks, including both older, traditional works and more modern artworks.
2.  We discussed the techniques, colours, shapes, patterns, symbols and styles found in Aboriginal paintings.
3.  The students traced their hand shape onto black paper and stuck it onto red cardboard.  I encouraged the students to think about how they wanted to place their hands on the page and what they were trying to convey through the placement of the hands (e.g. unity/harmony, joy, isolation etc).
4.  I then asked the students to design a pattern of dots on some scrap paper.  I tried to convey the importance of creating patterns/shapes/lines, not just putting dots anywhere!
5.  When students were happy with their designs, I demonstrated how to use the bottom of the paintbrush and/or a cotton bud to dip into the paint and create dots.
6.  We also discussed what colours would be appropriate and effective on the artworks (e.g. red on the red cardboard may not show up well, white and yellow show up well on black, etc)
7.  The students went back to their desks and created their dot paintings.

Year 3 Dot Paintings:



Year 3 Paintings, 2010




Year 3 student, 2010




Year 3 student, 2010



Australian Bird Paintings



By Lisa, 2009


The Lesson:

In 2009 the Year 3/4 students were studying a unit of work on Australian birds.  We were learning about their body parts and features, their habitats, how they fly, their adaptations and how to listen for different bird species.  I designed this lesson to compliment these lessons and to help set the right "mood" for the classroom!  The lesson idea came from A Deep Space Sparkle art lesson on painting parrots: http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2010/04/primary-color-parrots/


Lesson Steps:

1.  Show the students photos of different Australian birds.  Also look at diagrams of birds and discuss the body parts and features of the birds.
2.  I started by doing a demonstration drawing, discussing the layout, sizing and spacing.  I then gave the students a sheet of white art paper, showed them how to start by drawing in a branch and leaves and then encouraged them to draw their own in. When I am teaching step-by-step drawing like this, I always provide hints about spacing, such as "Start your branch 3 finger spaces up from the bottom left corner of the page" etc.
3.  I then sent the students back to their desks to draw in their birds.  To help students draw the birds, I provided each table group with a variety of clipart images and drawings of Australian birds that they could copy/use to inspire them. 
4.  For the really reluctant/unconfident students, I allowed them to trace 1 or 2 of the bird features and then they were encouraged to draw the rest in themselves.  I found this gave these students a bit of support and scaffolding, which allowed them to create a successful independent drawing (without just tracing the whole thing!)
5.  After the drawings were completed, we met back together on the floor to discuss colours.  We looked at the different colours of Australian birds and I demonstrated how to mix colours together to create more realistic, richer tones.  I also explained how to wash brushes in between different colour selections, so as not to end up with dirty paint colours!
6.  The students went back and painted their birds.
7.  When dry, I asked the students to outline their birds with black texta and add in any extra details they had not already put in (either deliberately or forgotten!), e.g. claws on branches, eye details, feathers etc.  Many students forgot to draw in the claws on branches.  Next time I teach this lesson, I will make a point of reminding them!

Year 3 Bird Paintings:



Year 3 Australian Bird paintings, 2009




By Braedy, 2009

 

By Riley, 2009



By Minhyeong, 2009



 

Coloured Paper Spring Flowers

2009 Year 3 flowers

The Lesson:

Each year my town celebrates a flower festival.  To mark this occasion, I sometimes spend an art lesson creating paper flowers to decorate the classroom.

Lesson Steps:

1.  Show the students a vast range of flowers, including real flowers and photos of flowers.  Try to include flowers with a wide range of colours, shapes, sizes and styles.
2.  Demonstrate how to draw some basic flower shapes, discussing the construction of flower petals and stems and how this relates to drawing them.
3.  Ask the children to practise drawing different flower designs on scrap paper.  I always encourage the students to try drawing some real flowers and some imagined ones.  The children are always given the choice of whether to have more creative and/or simplified flower designs, or whether to have more realistic, intricate flower designs. 
4.  Talk about the colours of flowers, including the colours of real flowers and colours that may work well together on their imagined flowers.
5.  Look at constrasting colours against each other (e.g. red on blue) as well as similar colours against each other (e.g. yellow on orange), and ask the children to share their personal preferences with the class.
6.  Demonstrate how to copy/trace their flower designs onto coloured Brenex paper and how to cut the pieces out and glue them together.
7.  Ask the children to pick their best few flower designs and to begin construction!



Year 3 flower designs, 2009