Visual Arts News
Prep
Recently in Visual Arts, the prep students read the picture story book, “The Chameleon’s True Colours” by Yuliya Pankratova. In the story, the chameleon borrows colours and patterns from the other animals, for example, the ladybird’s spotted red and the tiger’s striped orange. After discussing the colours and patterns, the students used paint slicks on a template to show all the colours that the chameleon borrowed. Last week, students learnt about sculptures and the different materials that artists use to create them. They then created their own paper sculpture using a range of paper folding techniques. Students created zig-zag folds, curls, loops and chains, and some even experimented with scissors to modify their paper sculpture further.
Grade 1 & 2
The grade one and two students recently created a Picasso-inspired portrait. After discussing and analysing some portraits by the famous artist, the students used black crayon to draw a face and divide it in half vertically. They then created different facial expressions and features on each side of the face, with the aim of portraying two different emotions. The students painted their portraits using watercolours and focused on using colours that helped to represent the two different emotions on their face. In the following week, the grade ones and twos learnt about “Fauvism” (a colourful French art movement that emerged in the early 1900s). The students followed a guided drawing of a cow face to create a cow portrait. They took inspiration from the paintings studied and used pastels to colour their cows in the unrealistic yet colourful style of the Fauvist artists.
Grade 3 & 4
Recently, the grade threes and fours completed a landscape painting inspired by the abstract landscapes of Belynda Henry. Students looked at Belynda’s artworks and noticed that she often shows reflections, paints organic rock-like shapes and uses neutral tones. Inspired by these works, students drew a horizon line and added their own organic shapes above the line. They used their knowledge of symmetry to draw the reflections in the water, then painted their landscapes using watercolor paints. In the following week, the students created mixed-media crystal geodes. They revisited the element of value and chose one colour to focus on for their geode. Students collaged paper in different shades of their colour, then used markers and watercolours to add contour lines and add extra layers to their geode. Lastly, they added a glitter ring to their work for texture.
Grade 5 & 6
The grade five and six students have been focusing on different projects over the last two weeks. Some classes created a textured natural disaster painting. Using a canvas as a base, they sketched a natural disaster, then used Modroc (plaster bandage) to build up textured areas. In the following week, they used acrylic paint to paint their work and added small pieces or paper or glitter for extra texture. Some classes learned how to use warm and cool colours intentionally in their work. These students explored coastal cottage artworks by Jessica Hogarth and discussed her used of line and shape. They drew a town/cottage scene by drawing at least two rows of buildings, focusing on line and shape. The students then divided their work in half vertically. On each side they used either “warm” or “cool” coloured pencils to outline their work, then used watercolour paints to complete these artworks.
