Extended Drawings

I've done variations of extended drawing a few of times in years past with my classes, and when I saw this post by the ever-wonderful Kathy at Art Projects for Kids, I couldn't resist doing it again. What interested me was the way Kathy has used this activity to encourage students to work with careful detail by showing them 'Super Speedy' and 'Super Detailed' examples of the same sheet.

When I showed similar examples to my classes the contrast between the two drew lots of 'oohs and aahs' from the kids, and they were really inspired to work with focus. I think I can safely say that you could have heard a pin drop as they worked on their own pictures!

Kathy has created free templates for her extended drawing project, but I only had a half lesson available, so I needed a sheet with fewer photos. I followed the link I found in the comments of Kathy's post to these great animal photographs on white backgrounds - it certainly saved a lot of time hunting through magazines, or editing photos myself!

We used plain old black biro to create detailed environments for the animals, and the results are fantastic. It really gave those students who love precise, detailed work an opportunity to shine!!

Andy Warhol Influenced Self-Portraits

Jasmine M

We used coloured highlighters to colour B&W photocopied photographs in the manner of Andy Warhol.
We created the background with rectangles of coloured paper glued onto a larger A4 coloured sheet.
The kids experimented with colour combinations, creating 6 different pictures of which they chose their favourite 4 to mount onto their backgrounds.

These were such a lot of fun to do - the kids love using the flourescent highlighters, and I love gently encouraging them away from the idea that colours have to be realistic!

Warhol: 'Marilyn' 1967

In A Parallel World.....

Students started with an action photo of themselves standing in front of a blank wall.

Their challenge was to create a shadow of themselves in a parallel world - a bit like Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland or the Narnia books. This world exists side by side with ours, and only needs a window or door to step from one into the other.

Like Peter Pan, their shadow can have a life of it's own. Instead of merely copying their real-life body, it should express something important about who they are - perhaps something they love to do like art, music or sport. It might even be symbolic - a lion, a playful rabbit, a dragon!

Finally, we created the background on the wall with watercolour pencil, imagining it as a window into a parallel world.

This project was inspired by this wonderful lesson which I found at Mini Matisse well over a year ago, and have had in mind ever since. It's a perfect project to finish the term, with loads of opportunity for students to stretch their imaginations!

This is our last lesson this term - our 2 week winter break starts now. Happy holidays!!

Going Cubist

Lily L (Yr 3)

Last week we traced photos onto acetate to create a semi-abstract self-portrait. This week we've used the same photos, but this time working directly onto the surface of the photo to abstract it using a cubist perspective.

We looked at some examples by Picasso, noticing how he sometimes shows the front and profile view of the subject within the one picture. We also talked about using color to express feelings rather than in a realistic way, and we discussed how various colors can be interpreted differently. Blue, for example, can be used to express sadness ("feeling blue"), but it is also the color of the ocean and the sky, and can be a very peaceful, calming color.

Working with black permanent markers, we drew a curved line through the center of our faces to create a profile view within the front view. We then went on to outline the main shapes of our portraits, and to add pattern to the background. Many of the kids chose to incorporate symbols that express their interests or personality in some way.

Finally we added color in a non-realistic way, again choosing colors that express something about ourselves. Some children decided to choose different colors for each side of their face to show different sides to their personalities. I love the way Lily, whose work I have displayed here, has used color and line to show that usually she is happy, but sometimes she feels sad.

We used wax crayons for this step as the colors are vibrant and luminous, while also being translucent enough to allow the black marker lines, and the shades within the photos, to show through.

I am so impressed with the finished result! The concept of abstract art can be quite a challenge for kids, but I think they have outdone themselves this week!

Amazing Self-Portraits on Acetate

Thomas T (Yr 3)

I found this fantastic idea using a painted paper background and black marker drawings on acetate at Field Elementary Art Blog through Pinterest, and have seen it a number of times since. I just love the way it allows young kids to create a self portrait (that really does look a little bit like them!) while also exploring the concept of semi-abstract art.

Before beginning we looked at examples and discussed the difference between realism (life-like) and semi-abstract (altered, but the original subject is still recognizable). We visualized a realism-abstract continuum - on one end is art as realistic as we can make it, on the far end is the abstract - so changed or totally divorced from the original inspiration that it is no longer recognizable. And in between are infinite levels of the semi-abstract.

This week we are using photos of ourselves as the starting point for a semi-abstract self portrait.

The kids had an absolutely free hand in how they designed and painted their backgrounds, using a metallic glitter paint. This paint is quite translucent, with a subtle glittery finish which is bright and colorful, but still allows the drawing overlay to stand out. 

After completing the backgrounds we laid a sheet of acetate over photographs (taken a week or two ago, which I photo-shopped to remove the background) and traced over them with black permanent markers. The process of eliminating shading and reducing the photograph to a purely linear drawing creates enough changes to subtly alter the picture to the semi-abstract, while still maintaining the essence and personality of the original.

We put our photos at the realistic end of the realism-abstract continuum. The photo-shopped images came next, close to the realistic end of the continuum, and our line tracings a little further along the line leading towards abstract. 

I love these pictures, they are so full of life and interesting line work!

Next week we are going to use the same photos to create a completely different self portrait .... these pictures will go much further along the continuum towards abstract, although they will still be recognizably based on the human face.

Don't you just love digital technology? The creative possibilities are endless!

My Ultimate Holiday!

The last lesson before the holidays, so a holiday themed picture seemed appropriate. I’d previously taken photos of the kids, which I photo-shopped to ink-sketch effect and to take out the background. The kids drew their idea of their ultimate holiday destination in the background (free drawing with fine black marker, no erasers allowed!) and colored with water-color pencil leaving their faces black and white. Aren’t they effective? We had everywhere from Paris to the Moon, underwater cities and Lollyland!

Murray L (Year 2)

Kiefer C (Year 2)

Lily B (Year 4)

Lilly H (Year 4)

Luke B (Year 2)

Georgia S (Prep)

Jordan O (Year

Juliana K (Year 1)

Ella H (Year 2)