Glue Line Watercolour Pumpkins

Here is a fun October/Autumn themed project. Fall is my favourite season and I'm all for Autumn themed art lessons. 

I've posted about it and all the steps previously HERE and HERE.

Start by 'drawing' a pumpkin with white glue directly on heavy white paper. I demonstrate how to make them look 3D with curved vertical lines. 

Overlapping pumpkins helps give a sense of space and depth. 

Let dry FLAT overnight. My drying rack lays flat- some have an angle. Be careful!

Once dry, outline both sides on the raised glue line using an ultra fine tip Sharpie. Then paint with watercolours, trying to show some shading and colour variation. 

Some Grade 7 results:

 

Dali Inspired Surrealist Animals

This project was inspired by the 1948 painting The Elephants by the Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. I introduced my Grade 4 students to the work of Dali and we discussed his style- barren landscapes with a real sense of depth and space, highly realistic details, lots of random objects grouped together.

See my previous posts on this project HERE and HERE.

Grade 6 students started by sketching out an animal of their choice, making sure to stretch and dramatically lengthen their legs. A great time to discuss the principle of proportion in art.

Once drawn, trace over all the lines in Sharpie.

And paint in watercolours. 

Students should include some sort of creative background. 

Some finished Grade 6 works!

 

Goal Word Design using Marker Watercolour

This was my first lesson of the year with all my classes. It takes a while for our teacher schedules to settle down and finalize, so I like to have a straightforward but fun lesson to use with all my classes during the first slightly chaotic week.

I found this lesson from Molly McFee (@mcfeesartstudio) on Instagram. 

Not related to this lesson, but her collages are amazing!!

So students can to think of a goal word to summarize the upcoming year. They folded a piece of photocopy paper in half and drew it out in capital letters using a pencil. They trace over the lines using a king size Sharpie. 

Then they use water based markers and draw designs all around the word. Then, using a brush and water, they paint over the marker, creating a watercolour effect.

Some finished works from Grades 4 through 8

 

Popcorn Interpretive Drawing

This is a drawing lesson I found in the book: From Ordinary To Extraordinary: Art & Design Problem Solving by Ken Vieth. I like this assignment because it addresses both accurate drawing from observation as well as creative thinking. I did this project with a mixed Grade 10,11,12 class. It was challenging for them, but I think they learned a lot about drawing with this technique. It involves creating two drawings from looking at pieces of popcorn: one a realistic drawing from observation and the second involves transforming the popcorn into something else.

It also involves drawing opposite to what we are accustomed to- drawing with white on black paper.

See all the steps in my previous post HERE.

*I buy microwave popcorn from the dollar store for this project. 

For the observational drawing, students have to use white coloured pencil on black paper. For the interpretive side, they can use media of their choice, watercolour and coloured pencil being the most popular choices.