Polaroid Style Watercolor Travel Paintings

This is a cool retro style watercolour project using Polaroid compositional format.

There are tons of inspiration on Instagram, where I saw this idea. If you are the originator of the lesson, please comment so I can give credit!!

Grade 10-12 students had to brainstorm ideas of places they've visited that made them feel safe, comfortable, happy, or has good memories of. Of course we always have lots of Rocky Mountains in ours! 

I gave them a planning worksheet on which to sketch their ideas. I encourage them to use their own original photos as well. 

Once planned, they measured out the correct dimensions on a sheet of watercolour paper. Some love to tape off their paper. For watercolour media, they could use either pan watercolour or watercolour pencils. 

I always love how these turn out!

Grade 10-12 artworks

 

Maud Lewis Inspired Flower Painting

Maud Lewis (1903-1970) was a Canadian folk artist known for her vibrant, naive paintings of Nova Scotia landscapes and everyday life, despite facing significant physical challenges due to juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Maud Lewis was born with a condition that resulted in physical deformities and later developed into juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which caused her significant pain and limited mobility, especially in her hands. Maud's mother introduced her to painting by teaching her to make and sell Christmas cards. She married Everett Lewis, a fish peddler, and they lived in a small, one-room house in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia, where Maud continued to paint and sell her art. 

Maud was uniquely creative, self-taught, specialized in painting everyday rural life, loved animals and appreciated the beauty of nature. I've seen her work when I visited Halifax- you can also visit her original house which is now housed within the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. It's so adorable and charming with almost every surface painted in flowers!

Grade 4-6 students started off by looking at her flower still life paintings and discussing the colours and composition.

Flowers in Red Pot, 1967

I started by doing a demonstration. Students then sketched out their bouquet on 

brown kraft paper.

Then they practiced using tempera paint sticks on scrap paper- it was our first time using them. The kids enjoyed them but realized pretty quickly that they aren't ideal for colouring small details.

I love the wide variety of artworks created- we are holding onto these for Mother's Day!

 

Observational Seashell Drawings

Observational drawing offers numerous benefits, primarily focusing on honing visual perception and artistic skills. It enhances an artist's ability to see and represent details accurately, leading to improved accuracy in drawing lines, shapes, and details. This practice also cultivates patience, meticulousness, and a heightened sense of detail, crucial for realistic and proportional drawings. 

I have a large stash of seashells- many I've collected on my travels over the years (Mozambique being the best one!) and some I've bought at garage sales or thrift stores. 

You can even buy small bags at Dollarama.

When I do observational drawing with my students, we use 4B drawing pencils, kneadable erasers and blending stumps.

Here are some examples from my Grade 7-9 students:

 

Maud Lewis Style Cat Paintings

Maud Lewis (1903-1970) was a Canadian folk artist known for her vibrant, naive paintings of Nova Scotia landscapes and everyday life, despite facing significant physical challenges due to juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Maud Lewis was born with a condition that resulted in physical deformities and later developed into juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which caused her significant pain and limited mobility, especially in her hands. Maud's mother introduced her to painting by teaching her to make and sell Christmas cards. She married Everett Lewis, a fish peddler, and they lived in a small, one-room house in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia, where Maud continued to paint and sell her art. 

Maud was uniquely creative, self-taught, specialized in painting everyday rural life, loved animals and appreciated the beauty of nature. I've seen her work when I visited Halifax- you can also visit her original house which is now housed within the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. It's so adorable and charming with almost every surface painted in flowers!

Maud's art gained recognition in the 1960s, with her paintings capturing the attention of a journalist and leading to a radio documentary and newspaper article. Maud Lewis's work continues to be celebrated in Canada and internationally, and she is considered one of Canada's most beloved folk artists. 

Grade 4-6 student started off by looking at Maud's cat and landscape paintings on her official website.

We discussed her style of painting and use of colour. 

Then we watched THIS video about her life and art. 

I based my project on a lesson plan from Crayola Canada HERE.

My students learned SO many techniques during this project- so many painting techniques. I would say the Grade 4 students struggled a bit and the Grade 6 students felt the most confident with all the steps. 

Day one, students painted their background paper with a blue sky and mixed yellow and blue to make a custom green colour. Then they drew their cat and added cherry blossom branches. 

Next class the cat and blossoms were painted.

The last class was for all the final details, the face and tulips.

I love how cute and happy they all are!