Art News 

Errol St Campus

From Tess V, Senior school Art teacher

Grade 3

Our Grade 3 students have been learning about Aboriginal X-ray style painting, an art tradition found in Arnhem Land. They explored the historical significance of this style and discussed some of the cultural importance it holds for the First Nations communities of the region. For their final project, students are creating realistic paintings of Australian fish on ceramic tiles, combining careful observation with the techniques they have learned. We look forward to sharing their artworks in the next newsletter.

Grade 4

Over the past three weeks, our Grade 4 students have been developing their hand-building skills by creating imaginative pinch-pot creatures. Students began by revisiting the basics of forming a pinch pot, ensuring they could shape a strong and even base. They then explored how to score and attach additional features such as eyes, ears, and limbs, first practising with plasticine to build confidence before moving on to air-dry clay. This careful process helped them understand how to create secure joins and bring personality to their designs. This week, students will begin adding colour to their sculptures, experimenting with paints to highlight textures and details. Once decorated, each creature will be sealed to protect and preserve their work. 

Grade 5

In Grade 5,students have been exploring colour mixing techniques, focusing on creating tints, tones, and shades to produce their own monochromatic paintings. Throughout the unit, students learned how adding white, black, or grey can change the value of a colour and create depth in an artwork. They were given free choice in selecting the subject of their painting, allowing for creativity while practising these skills. Lessons centred on painting techniques, brush control, and careful colour mixing. Here are some finished pieces students have worked hard on. 

Grade 6

The Grade 6 students have been hard at work creating their graduation portraits over the past few weeks. Using a reverse acetate technique, students traced and painted their own portraits, exploring colour, line, and contrast to produce striking final pieces. Alongside this, they experimented with textural backgrounds to enhance the overall presentation of their artworks. These portraits are a special part of our Grade 6 end-of-year celebrations. Please come through the school and take a look at the display in the final week of school.