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Category Archives: painting

Frogs in a Pond (with Monet) 1st Grade

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An abstract painting of a frog with colorful shapes in the background, inspired by Monet.

I love lessons where I can tie in different areas of study, art history and art techniques!  This is a project I developed that incorporates study of frogs, Monet and watercolor painting. To start this project, we learn about the artist Claude Monet and his paintings of ponds and lilypads.  We read a book about Monet from the Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists series. (This series is awesome for read-alouds in class.  I love the picture books about … Read more… →

African Cloth Painting– 3rd Grade

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Child's colorful drawing of a green turtle with a brown shell and a red border, featuring yellow corner decorations, resembles an African Cloth Painting.

The Intermediates (grade 3) are studying Africa in their Social Studies class.  We learned about the African Korhogo Clothes.  See this link for more details. This project focused on how symbols are used in African art.  The students designed their own painted Korhogo cloth on muslin.  They decorated the border with symbols and drew their main figure with Sharpie.  Then, they added paint with watercolor.

Abstract Oil Pastel Trees– 4th/5th grade

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Abstract Oil Pastel Trees with a black trunk and branches, surrounded by vibrant, multicolored background segments.

This is a lesson I teach every year because the results are so beautiful!  Each of the kid’s drawings just turns out wonderful. The 4/5s drew trees to complement their studies in Science class. How can line be used creatively to make a stylized picture?  How can oil pastels be used effectively?   The students aimed to use line creatively and made stylized art.  A focus of the lesson was color mixing, blending and layering of the oil pastel. Steps: Day … Read more… →

Spooky Silhouettes– Kindergarten

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Abstract artwork featuring a white bird and house against a bright orange background, with black and white shapes and spooky silhouettes.

We just finished these lovely Halloween pictures today.  I don’t really like doing “holiday” art during art class unless I can tie in some solid art concepts.  (That’s why I sometimes do the fun crafty afterschool classes.)  For this project, the kindergartners learned a few art vocabulary words: Silhouette the outline or general shape of something…  a dark image outlined against a lighter background. Warm Colors the yellows and reds of the color spectrum, associated with fire, heat, sun, and warmer … Read more… →

Monochromatic Rhythm Paintings– 3rd Grade

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A colorful painting with a central heart and the word "LOVE" written multiple times in various shades of pink and red.

I love these monochromatic rhythm paintings!  The lighting was weird when I took the pictures, so I’m not sure the colors are as vibrant as they really are.  We talked about rhythm in art and how to create it by repetition.  The students learned how to mix shades and tints of one color.  Gold was added at the end for a final touch (so in the end, I allowed them to “cheat” on the monochromatic part, but the gold adds … Read more… →

First Grade Bird Paintings– Audubon

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Child's drawing of an owl and a small bird on a tree branch with a colorful sky background and green leaves.

These beautiful bird paintings were drawn and painted by first graders.  The students learned about the artist John James Audubon and we read a book about his life. I love this book about Audubon, because it has beautiful pictures and ties science and art together nicely. The students looked at pictures of birds and drew them with crayons.  Then we painted the background with tempera cakes.  This is a lovely picture.. too bad we didn’t use thicker paper, it wrinkled … Read more… →

Castles with Pen and Watercolor– 5th/6th grade

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A pen and watercolor painting of a castle with multiple towers, surrounded by trees on a grassy landscape under a blue sky.

  5th/6th grade Castle Drawings The 5th and 6th graders have been studying the Medieval time period in their Social Studies class.  For this project, the 5th and 6th graders looked at pictures of castles and drew their own castle using pencil and pens.  Then, they added watercolor washes to the picture.  Some of the students discovered that it looks really nice when the castle is left white.

Penguins in the Snow– Kindergarten and NAEA convention

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Child's painting of a penguin wearing a hat, surrounded by white snowflakes against a red background.

Hello!  Can you believe there’s only 3 days left until the National Art Education Conference in New York?  woo hoo!  Each day I am planning to give a short update in pictures and words recapping what I did all day.  I know I will be so super busy though, so we’ll see if that actually happens!   Today is also our regional art show, so I will have pictures of that to show you later. The kindergarten class studied penguins in … Read more… →

Third and Fourth grade collaborative circle paintings

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A vibrant and colorful abstract painting with various shapes, patterns, and swirls in multiple colors, inspired by collaborative circle paintings often created by third grade students.

I was so excited to see this idea of Circle Painting!!   I first learned about it at Barbara’s Thought of the Day and then at We Heart Art.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. for this wonderful idea.  We are making several collaborative canvases with this technique and they are going to be raffled off at our end of the year school FUNdraiser.  The kids had a blast creating these paintings.  This is the first video I have edited … Read more… →

Painted Korhogo Cloths– 3rd Grade

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Child's colorful drawing of a person with flowers and a vibrant angular border.

This project focused on how symbols and designs are used in African art.  The students designed their own painted Korhogo cloth.  They decorated the border with symbols and drew their main figure with Sharpie.  Then, they added paint with watercolors.   1.  Introduce African Korhogo cloths.2.  Sketch ideas.3.  Draw your design on a square of muslin withe pencil.  Use a ruler to draw a border.4.  Outline with Sharpie marker.5.  Paint with watercolors.  

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