Hot Chocolate in Oil Pastels: Pattern & Colour

This oil pastel lesson was inspired by a photo (see below) that's been floating around Pinterest for a while. It's by an Etsy artist named Heather Galler, who works in a Folk Art style.

I modified a lesson found HERE on Cassie Stephens amazing art blog. 

My Grade 5 students started off by sketching out a hot chocolate mug in the center of a square of black construction paper. They added a table line then added patterns in the background and on the table. Then they outlined all their pencil lines using a black wax crayon. 

Then they coloured the drawings in using oil pastels.

Once coloured in completely, they went over their original black lines with a black oil pastel 

to really make the image pop. Some took a cotton ball or two and fluffed them out and glued them on their hot chocolate for 'steam'.

This lesson took about 3 - 40 minute periods for my students to complete.

I can post these hot beverage artworks now because it's still cold and snowy and

wintry where we live! (-17C today! brrrrrr!)

Raccoon in the Forest

This is a really adorable raccoon project that I knew would be perfect for my Grade 3's. 

I found the lesson HERE on the ARTventurous blog.   

I laid out two different shades of brown construction paper (9 x 12") as well as grey and let kids choose one for their raccoon drawing. 90% went with the light brown for some reason ;)

I also laid out black and white wax crayons- next time I'll use oil pastels as they just end up brighter and bolder with less effort. I also laid out green construction paper for the background.

I demonstrated how to draw the raccoon and then let my kids go to town. They drew on their brown construction paper in pencil first.

Then they passed over all their lines in black wax crayon.

Then they coloured in their raccoon markings using black and white wax crayons.

Once coloured, they bubble cut them out. This all took about 40 minutes.

The next class the kids glued their raccoons onto green construction paper....

and then added some fir trees using wax crayons.

Voila!