Monochromatic Color Scheme Paintings

Another lesson I've been wanting to teach forever!  So pleased with the results.  Students used one color and black and white acrylic paint for this assignment.  After they chose their subjects from a magazine (they were instructed to choose a living subject that was photographed), I made black and white copies of their photos to help them better see the different values.

Inky People/Creatures

I've posted before about Stefan G. Bucher's "Daily Monsters"  Be careful if you watch one video, you'll want to keep watching more, and more, and more.....

Materials:
straws
different sizes of construction paper (I used 6x8" & 8x10" because I wanted students to finish in one class)
Markers

Here are the FUN results from some of my high school students this year:

Here are more examples from 2011-12 students.

Inspired by Famous Paintings

The above image is from an art magazine.....

And below are projects my high school students recently completed based on famous paintings.  Isn't it the best feeling to see young creative minds at work?!

Van Gogh "Almond Blossoms"

Vincent van Gogh "Bedroom at Arles"

George Bellows, "Dempsey and Firpo"

Michaelangelo, "Sistine Chapel"

Vincent van Gogh, "Paris Cafe"

Vermeer, "Girl with Pearl Earring"

Raphael, "School of Athens"

Salvador Dali, "Persistence of Time"

William Beard, "Dancing Bears"

Hokusai,The Great Wave

Leonardo da Vinci, Horse Study

Thanks North County Christian High School art students, 2012-13.

SeaLife Art

My high school students finished their "zentangle" version of my Sea Life MEGA Poster and I love the way it turned out.  

They do to:)

Our school colors are Red and Black, so that's why they outlined the subjects with red and did the zentangling with black.  Next time I tell them to outline their subjects with a thick red line.  The thick red lines around the subjects look better than the ones with a thin red outline.

Funny how some students don't like making zentangles?  I consider it such a huuuuuuge luxury to sit down and have the time to make a zentangle and they consider it a chore.  Oh well, that's what makes our planet more interesting - we have our differences:)

Here's a link to the MEGA Poster PDF at my Teacher's Pay Teachers store.  Of course it can be colored traditionally too, and even 1st graders can do this project.

Inspiring Works?

Hmmmm, which artwork has inspired more art lessons than any other?  

For me, it's Kandinsky's "Farbstudie Quadrate" Concentric Circles.  Closely followed by Van Gogh's Starry Night.  Van Gogh's Sunflowers probably comes in third.  

Which famous artwork do you never get tired of using as a source of inspiration for an art lesson?

The pics here were done by my high school students.  

They used acrylics on heavy paper.  Size 6"x8".

I could look at these all day!!!  Thanks NCCS HS students!

3D Paper Scrolls

 NCCS High School

I found this great lesson here, and I thank Miriam for sharing it.  My students enjoyed the lesson very much.  I enjoyed it because it's not as hard as it looks!

First I taught how to make a 3D paper scroll by starting with a curly-que at the top, then attaching vertical lines on the sides of each curve.  Lastly shading the sides.

Students chose colored construction paper.  Drew and shaded a 3D scroll on each color with colored pencils.  Cut them out. Arranged them on their paper.  Then they drew "ghost scrolls" behind the colored scrolls.  Lastly, they cut off the bottom of their paper so all the scrolls touched the bottom.  Another time I taught the lesson, students drew a box with white pencil and then "ghost scrolls" behind the colored scrolls.

 NCCS high school

 5th Grade

Drippy Art

I've been wanting to do some type of "Pour Painting" ever seeing this video a while back.  I've been hesitant because I wasn't sure about using so much paint for a project that might not turn out well, and also wondering how to manage a class of students doing the "pour" art all at the same time.
So when last day of school came around, I had a number of old canvases that had been donated and a number of small bottles of acrylics paints and decided to let the kids go for it.
I loved watching them experiment with the colors and dripping the paint down the canvases, but if I ever do the project again, I'll do it on a different day rather than the last day of school.  Last day of school is too crazy already, and to add a crazy art lesson was too much for me.
I can share though that the project used less paint than I thought it would.  Just a little paint dripped a long ways.
I originally had a few different ideas for dripping the paint.  Using spoons, using syringes (that was messy joke!), but eventually I realized for the purpose of having 12 kids doing the project at the same time meant that they just had to pour the paints right out of the 2 oz. bottles.  Next time I'll plan farther in advance and get more cans of paint donated and we'll use spoons.

Being Foodies in the Art Room

Have you seen this book?  It's very entertaining.

My high school art students made their own versions of food "beings".  It was fun:)