Visual Arts  

PCM & PSG: Animal Collages

Prep students explored the elements of line, pattern, colour, and shape as they created their own animal collages. They learned about texture by gluing different kinds of paper to give their artwork an actual rough feel. Students carefully drew and cut out simple shapes from various papers and layered them to form their chosen animals. By selecting and combining textured materials, they added interest and depth to their collages, gaining an understanding of how to use texture and shape creatively in their artmaking.

1CJ: Robot Metallic Painting/Collages

Year 1 students explored the concept of shape through their Metallic Robot Painting Collage. They learned how to manipulate paper by cutting and gluing basic geometric shapes such as rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles to construct imaginative robot figures. By experimenting with different kinds of paper, including metallic and textured types, students added variety and visual interest to their artworks. They also explored the use of repetition to bring unity and movement to their robot designs. With careful attention to cutting and placement, students successfully created vibrant and creative robot collages.

2HV & 2NH: Shaded Ice-cream Cone Paintings

Year 2 students learned how to enhance their shaded ice cream cone paintings by adding extra embellishments to improve their visual appeal. They focused on incorporating details such as cast shadows and pops of colour to make their artwork more engaging and dynamic. Students explored the concept of form and used shading techniques to give their ice cream cones the illusion of depth and dimension. By smudging black and white oil pastels, they successfully created realistic shading and highlights on the ice cream topper, making it appear more three-dimensional and lifelike.

3NS & 3JA: Pie Stand Paintings

Year 3 students explored the art elements of line, form, space, and colour through a Pie Stand artwork inspired by the artist Wayne Thiebaud. They painted their backgrounds and tables using watercolour, alternating colours to create contrast and visual interest. Students demonstrated their understanding of space by adding a background to give their artwork a sense of depth. They carefully applied smooth brushstrokes and used white oil pastel to add highlights to the platter and the right side of the stand, enhancing the illusion of form. Finally, they cut and glued coloured and patterned paper as collage pieces to creatively enrich their overall design.

4ME, 4JT & 4ST: Coloured Pencil Macarons

Year 4 students explored the concept of value by learning how to use coloured pencils to create light and dark areas through varying pressure. They practiced shading techniques to add depth and dimension to their macaron drawings, inspired by the artwork of Wayne Thiebaud. Students also drew a horizontal line to represent the edge of the table in their compositions, helping to establish a sense of space. To complete their pieces, they carefully cut along the horizontal line and trimmed either the top or bottom of their artwork before mounting it onto coloured paper for a refined and polished presentation. This task strengthened their understanding of composition, shading, and presentation skills.

5DG & 5SC: Pete Cromer Bird Collages

Year 5 students completed vibrant bird collages inspired by the artwork of Pete Cromer, focusing on the art elements of colour, texture, contrast, and shape. They carefully selected and layered painted paper shapes to build their birds, making sure each layer stood out and didn’t blend into the background. Students explored contrast to ensure their birds popped from the page, and repeated similar colours and shapes to give their work a strong sense of unity. They added thoughtful details and extra layers to enhance the texture and design of their birds, resulting in unique and eye-catching collages that showcased creativity and attention to visual harmony.

6EK & 6SJ: Emotion Portraits inspired by Pablo Picasso

Year 6 students created expressive emotion portraits inspired by the bold and imaginative style of Pablo Picasso. They explored the art elements of colour, line, shape, and value by using facial expressions and carefully selected colours to communicate a chosen emotion. Students applied watercolours to bring their portraits and backgrounds to life, thoughtfully choosing colours that reflected their emotional themes. They built dimension by layering darker values over dry areas and used coloured markers to add expressive lines and shapes to enhance the impact of their backgrounds. The final artworks were vibrant and emotionally powerful, demonstrating a deep understanding of how visual elements can express feeling.

Warm regards,

Adele Schofield, Visual Arts Teacher