Watercolor Paintings

I cannot believe it has been a month since my last post! My sincerest apologies for the radio silence.

The week of Thanksgiving, we took a little break from our Africa unit and talked about the American artist Chuck Close. Students learned several shading techniques and put their knowledge to the test by recreating a piece of a face. Each face was divided into tiny squares, so students have yet to learn whose face they were recreating. I have received almost all of the pieces and will be able to assemble the portraits over break. I know students are anxiously awaiting to see how their collaborative art project turns out.

Students put together incredible African Musical Performance! I am so proud of each student for breaking out of their comfort zone to dance or drum in front of their classmates. I have to load pictures of the drums to the Virtual Art Show, and hopefully I will have some groups who would be willing to allow me to post a video of their routine.

Last week classes started their introduction on watercolor. This is one of my absolute favorite projects because students are given choice in so many ways and it always yields beautiful results. Students choose between creating a landscape, an animal, or a dragon and build a composition of their choosing. I had students create a thumbnail sketch of each so they could give each other feedback and make suggestions as to which subject they should move forward with. It has been an exciting time in the art room the last couple of days because students have been coming up with such beautiful compositions! Only a few students have started painting, and I've reminded them that there is no rush to complete their artwork before break, so I won't be posting finished products until we return in January.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing winter break! I look forward to spending the final five weeks together with my students before the end of the semester.

Watercolor Paintings

I think I might call every project my favorite project, but these watercolor paintings are actually my favorite. Historically, most of my students have said that the watercolor lesson was their favorite, too, because it opens them up to a new media and they are given a lot of choice in subject matter. Let me outline the lesson:

We start by creating watercolor booklets to teach each of the watercolor techniques. Last semester I created a video tutorial for students to follow along to, which I love because it allows me to walk around the room and help the students who need assistance instead of being stuck at the front of the room instructing. The video is also linked to my lesson slideshow, so students are able to go back and re-watch it at any time if they forget how to implement one of the techniques. The booklets are made out of one sheet of paper, so they can essentially take them anywhere! When I first started out painting with watercolor, I enjoyed sitting outside and painting my surroundings, so the booklet was a helpful bit of inspiration for trying different techniques.

Next I introduced students to the project, where they ultimately choose between painting a landscape, dragon, or animal. This year I had students create thumbnail sketches of all three subjects and receive feedback from their peers before finalizing their subject matter. Once they decided on one of the three subjects, students sketched out a full-page rough draft. Each class completed a TAG (tell something nice, ask a question, give a suggestion) critique to provide further feedback on their ideas. After the critique, students were able to make final alterations to their rough drafts before moving on to their finals. 

I have been beyond impressed by the artwork my students have been producing this week! The goal is to use at least three watercolor techniques in their paintings, and I've been seeing some used in new ways than I've ever seen before. I cannot wait until these paintings are finished so I can add them to the Virtual Art Show to show off! Here are some works-in-progress:

Check out my Twitter and Instagram for more frequent updates on the painting process!

Watercolor Paintings

Artists are in full swing with their watercolor paintings! Students have enjoyed being able to choose their subject, which allows students to pick a composition they know that they will be most successful in creating.

Last week, students created watercolor booklets where they demonstrated several watercolor techniques. I love book arts and find that the one-page booklet is simple to make, but is very useful as a study guide or a quick little booklet.

After the booklets, students created rough drafts and then engaged in a gallery walk critique where they gave feedback to help inspire their classmates with ideas.

The last two days students have been starting on their paintings. Students also have the choice in size of their paper, so I have artwork spanning from 9" x 9" to 18" x 24". Here are a few works-in-progress:

Have a fabulous Thanksgiving!