Painted Backgrounds

Here is a fun painting technique to use if you have extra time.
Tell your students they're going to paint a picture, but first they're going to paint the entire background with a solid color. The effect ends up similar to painting on colored paper, but brighter.
Our subject was a butterfly and flowers, but this technique can be used when painting any subject.

These samples were done on canvas, but heavy paper can be used instead.
Step 1: Paint the entire background a solid color, not blue.
Step 2: Paint the subject on top of the background color.
Step 3: Paint the sky blue around the subjects, but leave a bit of the background color showing through in border areas.

This is the example I showed the students. I explained how I painted orange background first, flowers&butterfly, and blue sky last and left some orange areas showing.

I had to reiterate a few times that the orange parts are showing on purpose, and it took some reminders to get the kids to "stop" painting before their entire background color was covered. (I'm sure you're familiar with the students in your class who will keep on painting, until an adult says....."Hmmm, do you think your art might be finished?"...or, I confess, sometimes those aren't the exact words I've used.)

Painted light green background first.

Painted yellow background first.

Painted olive green background first.

Michelangelo Quote

Image via Wikipedia

"If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all."

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Italian, (1475 – 1564).

Blue & Rose Period

Image via Wikipedia

For this lesson we talked about Picasso's Blue and Rose Periods. Then we talked about color values.
The students were given old calendars w/ animals, chose an animal, then traced it onto white paper. In order to trace the pictures, students taped the calendar page up to the window to create a "lightbox" effect. This makes tracing much easier.

Students then chose either a blue or red palette for their animal. Working light to dark.

Lastly, the students painted a simple background.

After tracing their animals, students created light, medium and dark blue or red to be used for painting their animal.

If you like this lesson because of its emphasis on painting "values", check out my $6 downloadable PDF lesson on "The Great Wave". It comes with step by step intstructions, color picture samples, and a blue value chart to share with your students.

King Tut steps

Image by riacale via Flickr

These King Tuts took 2 class periods to complete. Students were given 10"x10" white cardstock divided into 25 squares, 5 across and 5 down. (Each square 2"x2".)
Step 1 - Students cut the perimeter squares off in order to leave a section with 9 squares, 3 across and 3 down.
Step 2 - Students followed drawing directions for King Tut using the 9 squares.
Step 3- Students were given examples of Egyptian hieroglyphs, then drew symbols on each of the 16 perimeter squares.
Step 4 - Students colored Tut with markers.
Step 5 - Students colored 8 perimeter squares with one color, and the other 8 perimeter squares with a different color.
Step 6 - Students cut squares apart and arranged them on 12" x 12" background paper.
Step 7 - Students glued down the squares.
See final Tuts here.
Thanks again Miss Julie for this lesson idea & Mrs. Venn's 6th grade Flamson Middle School students for their awesome effort:)

The Boy King

Image by Sanandreas via Flickr

Who isn't fascinated by King Tut? Loved when I found this lesson idea on Miss Julie's Place, thanks Miss Julie for sharing:)

Big thanks to students in Mrs. Venn's 6th grade class at Flamson Middle School, your Tut's are colorfabuful!

A Bit of Fall

Pumpkin Paintings.......
1. paint pumpkin 2. paint sky 3. paint ground 4. paint vines, leaves, blossoms.

Navajo Wedding Basket-Trays

Because the students were learning about Native Americans, we decided to make drawings of a Navajo Wedding Basket-Tray.

The basket is meant to be placed with the ring opening facing east. This allows the the rising sun's rays to come into the couple's marriage union and fill their lives with brightness and beauty. The triangles represent sacred mountains which symbolize time to restore one's mind.
The students' were excited to learn how to make even triangles without the use of rulers or other mathematical tools. Keep in mind that we used the term, "even enough", for this project. Perfectly-even was not our goal.
Kids also enjoyed learning about the differences in the philosophical opinions of the Navajo and the Europeans when it came to raiding camps.

All of this information and more, is available on a PDF downloadable lesson.

It also includes a student handout with more information about the Navajo tribe.

For more pictures and details, visit here.

Big thanks to the students in Ms. Brossette's class at Flamson Middle School.