Big Cats Painting

Students have been learning how to draw animals by using contour line and seeing hidden shapes.

They worked on large paper and drew a big cat from a photograph. Then we painted a watercolor background using various techniques...wet in wet, salt, scratching.

Next,students mixed tempera paint to create different values and painted them according to their photo.

Number Grids

Students painted first using two of the colors from the triad they selected

after the base coat dried, let the dry brushing begin...

I love how she had meaningful letters and numbers

This one has a hidden word when upside down!

Superb brushwork!

We are studying the iconic images of Jasper Johns.  I just love how he shows the process of the materials he uses, so painterly and handcrafted.  Students are creating their own number grid (some are using letters as well) and are learning about using a triadic color scheme.  We spend time also in this lesson talking about caring for your paintbrushes, which to me is an important lesson in itself.

Students drew a grid on tag board with a ruler...didn't have to be perfect but somewhat evenly spaced. They cut out numbers from craft foam to glue onto their grid in any order they preferred.  I could have bought the numbers ready made from foam, but I prefer them hand-cut.  They glued them on the grid in one class.  Next class was about painting and learning to use the dry-brush technique.  They caught on very quickly and created these beautiful pieces of work.  This was done with grades 3 thru 12. Excellent results and lots of fun! Thank you to Art Projects for Kids for the wonderful idea.  I do prefer the hand-cut look of the numbers out of foam.