Klimt 'Tree of Life' Whimsical Painting

This is a fun mixed media painting project inspired by the Gustav Klimt painting 

"The Tree of Life, Stoclet Frieze" (1905).

Grade 4 - 6 students started by looking and discussing Klimt's painting, noticing the use of patterns and gold. From Klimt's "Golden Period," Byzantine artistic influences can be seen in the highly decorative robes worn by the passionate figures. 

Students started by painting a watercolour patterned background on the top of large heavy white paper. I demonstrated how they can use the shape of their brush (flat versus round) to create a simple pattern. Then, using tempera paint, they painted a simple pattern on the bottom. We discussed contrast at this stage. 

The next class they drew on a swirly whimsical tree. 

I demonstrated how branches start off thick but end up thin and the ends.

And painted this using black tempera.

The next class, gold patterns were added to the tree using gold acrylic paint and thin brushes.

I have tested MANY student brands of gold paint, and surprisingly, the Dollarama gold acrylic paint is the best imo.

Very happy with the final results!!

 

Quote Paintings

I've only taught this lesson once but I look forward to teaching it again!

Students choose a quote that is meaningful to them and then create a grid type painting.

Start off by deciding on the quote and then count how many letters it has. 

Do not include any punctuation.

Then, decide on your grid formation and paper composition 

(vertical, tall and thin, horizontal, square, etc).

You can base coat your heavy paper first and then measure it all out with a ruler and pencil. 

I told students a grid but you can do whatever shape you want, really (one student went with a hexagon shape). 

Decide on the size of your font- my sample below I went with about 1 inch. The decide on a colour scheme and paint the rest of your squares. I gave students their choice of paint- some went with acrylic, others with watercolour.

Color scheme planning sheet

Research some font types and choose one that appeals to you and the quote. 

Sketch it out in pencil.

Then paint your fonts or use a Sharpie or paint pen.

Here's a couple of completed paintings- I LOVE them!

                "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

by Leo Tolstoy

                                     "All you have is your fire and the place you need to reach"
                                                              ~song lyrics by Hozier

"I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr. 

"When all else fails, take a nap"

“If nothing saves us from death, at least love should save us from life.”  

~Pablo Neruda

 

Spring Pointilism Dot Paintings

 

Grade 4 - 6 students learned about Pointilism and the work of George Seurat. They looked at his famous painting "Un Dimanche Après-Midi À L'île De La Grande Jatte" (1884-86) ("Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte") and discussed all the things they could see in the painting and as well as his paint application (small dots of paint). We counted all the dogs!  The French do like their dogs!

The revolutionary painting technique that eventually became known as Pointillism attempted to use the science of optics when creating paintings. This was done by painting small but separate dots of unmixed colors side by side, which were placed in various patterns in order to form an image.

Students were given the theme of "Spring" and could draw any object they wanted. 

I encouraged them to think in terms of large, simple shapes. 

They drew this on white paper, then used Q-tips (cotton swabs) and tempera paint to add dots within each shape. They had to use a minimum of two colours within each section. This lesson was a test of their patience for sure!  I had to do a lot of encouraging in order for them not to give up!

Grade 4 - 6 results!