Leaf Paintings in Tints and Shades

 

This lesson was inspired by the leaf paintings featured here at Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School.

My grade 4 students created our version of these paintings by drawing a large outline of a leaf on their page using pencil. They then divided the shape using one central line and then used lines to create smaller areas of shape. 

Students were then asked to choose one colour paint of their choice as well as black and white and then painted the divided areas using as many tints and shades of their chosen colour as they could mix. Once painted they used a thick black marker to retrace all their lines before cutting out their leaf and gluing to black card. I love the way these turned out, they remind me of stained glass windows.

Cat and Bird

'Cat and Bird' by Paul Klee. Image via wikimedia.

This is a simple lesson based on Paul Klee's 1928 painting 'Cat and Bird'. I used this lesson for my grade ones to reinforce using basic shapes to build up a drawing and had students use a step-by-step approach. I've seen this lesson on a few websites over the years. Rumriver Art Center also has a great resource for the step-by-step approach. I let my students paint their Cat and Bird in colours of their choice.

Lava Lamps

I loved this project I did a while back with my grade 2s. This idea came from Pinterest but unfortunately the link is broken, so if this is originally your brilliant idea, please let me know so I can credit you!

Found on Pinterest

It's a really clever idea because it teaches many different concepts, uses a variety of media and looks effective.

As with the original poster, I used this project to reinforce the difference between geometric and organic shape. The lamp is created by drawing a large triangle, then cutting two smaller triangles and a tiny rectangle from black paper and gluing to form the rest of the lamp. Several small organic shapes were drawn and painted inside the lamp for the lava and again in the background to create the psychedelic light effects. 

The shapes in the background were repeatedly traced in coloured textas (markers) until the shapes filled the entire background. A piece of black string or yarn was also added as a cord for the lamp. You could also use this project to teach complementary colours and quality of line.

More Drawing with Scissors

 

Thanks to Phyl from There's a Dragon in my Art Room for this great project! You can see her original post HERE. I had to try this project with my Pre-Primary and Grade 1 class after the Matisse inspired collages we have done recently. These photos show the students work in front of windows, which make them look a little like stained glass. I love that they were able to use both the positive and negative shapes that they cut from paper for these compositions.