Art at Hosmer: March 2018

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Monochromatic Tints & Shades Landscapes

Continuing our study of value, 5th grade artists explored tints and shades of colors. Tints are made by adding white to a color and shades are made by mixing black with the color. We began by practicing mixing our shade and tints, choosing three different colors to explore.

We also learned about the concept of atmospheric perspective, which can be seen in many landscape photographs and paintings. Atmospheric perspective describes the effect of objects being lighter in color as they get further away from you, and darker in color when they are closer. In addition, you can see more detail in the foreground and less detail in the background. We looked at some examples of photographs and paintings that demonstrate this concept.

We discussed how landscapes can be organized with a foreground in the front, middle ground, and background. We looked at different examples of landscapes, including rural or countryside landscapes, urban cityscapes, and even fantasy landscapes inspired by books and video games. Students sketched a landscape of their own creation, including more details in the foreground, and numbering their layers to match the tints and shades gradients they painted earlier.

The following class, students chose just one color to use for their tints and shades in their artwork, based on their explorations. When artists use shades and tints of the same color in their artwork, it is called monochromatic.

Students began painting the background or the lightest layer first, and then painted each layer a darker tint until they arrived to their color and their shade. We discussed keeping the details as silhouettes, or outlines of the shapes. Here are some examples:

Bella, 5th Grade (Psychoghios)

Aiden, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Nolan, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Anna, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Sona, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Aliana, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Jack, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Emily, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Cammy, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Domenic, 5th Grade (Domermuth Fantasia)

Miah, 5th Grade (Domermuth Fantasia)

Yazmin, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Sila, 5th Grade (Bellis)

LiaLah, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Kate S., 5th Grade (Bellis)

Tristan, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Friday, March 16, 2018

Arts Around the World: French Impressionist Paintings Inspired by Monet

The third country on our Arts Around the World journey this year is France. We began by learning a few facts about the country, like the capital city of Paris, and we also learned about the French artist, Claude Monet. Claude Monet was born in 1840 in Paris. Monet began the Impressionist art movement.

Impressionism is a style of painting that began in France in the early 1860s when artists started painting pictures outside instead of in their studios. This was called 'en plein air' (which is French for open air). Impressionist artists, like Monet, wanted to capture a moment in time and the light and color of the moment, more than the details of objects.

Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise (1872)

Monet enjoyed painting the same places over and over, to capture differences in light and color. Because the light conditions kept changing, he had to work very quickly, using quick, gestural brushstrokes of paint.

Claude Monet, Bridge Over a Pond of Waterlilies (1899)

We looked at some examples of Monet's paintings and discussed the differences between a few versions of his garden bridge and waterlilies paintings. We then drew our own version of a bridge, using oil pastels, and waterlilies underneath it.

We just used oil pastel, instead of starting with pencil, to keep things loose and students thought about creating the impression of waterlilies and floating lily pads, rather than drawing each petal in detail.

The following class we added watercolor paint to our oil pastel drawings. The oil pastel bridge and water lilies could still be seen through the watercolor paint which demonstrates resist, an effect students have learned previously. Students also learned about a watercolor technique called wet-on-wet, which involves painting the paper with water first and then dropping or painting with watercolor on top. The watercolor blooms or spreads because the paper is already wet which creates a blurry effect. Students enjoyed experimenting with this technique, and many found its effect "magical"!

Students also experimented with another watercolor technique: using salt sprinkled on top of the wet paint. The salt absorbs the color from the paint, creating a white spot underneath as it dries and making a interesting texture. Students enjoyed combining some of the watercolor techniques they learned about during this project. After our artwork dried, the salt was brushed off and students were excited to see the effects of the salt, as well as the wet-on-wet.

We shared our finished work with each other through a gallery walk, noticing everyone's use of the watercolor techniques and how the paint had dried. We also read a fun book about Monet, by Mike Venezia, which is part of his Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series. Below are examples of our Monet inspired garden bridge and waterlilies artworks:

Gianna, 2nd Grade (Pearse)

Joshua, 2nd Grade (Pearse)

Logan, 2nd Grade (Stone)

Mason, 2nd Grade (O'Connor)

Naomi, 2nd Grade (Hinds)

Ruken, 2nd Grade (O'Connor)

Sean, 2nd Grade (O'Connor)

Tia, 2nd Grade (Hinds)

Tyler, 2nd Grade (O'Connor)

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Out of This World Outer Space Resist

Recently, 4th grade artists thought about how to use color to make shapes appear less flat and more three dimensional. We noticed that adding shading to a shape, as well as a highlight, helps transform the flat shape into a three dimensional looking form. We applied this concept to our outer space drawings, using oil pastels.

To begin, students brainstormed a list of things you might see in outer space, including the Earth, sun, planets, stars, asteroids, space stations and of course, the Millennium Falcon and Death Star from Star Wars! After sketching out their compositions, students drew their outer space scenes on larger paper and used oil pastel to add color and depth.

Students were encouraged to use several colors on each object, considering the light source and where there might be shade to help give objects and three dimensional appearance. Students got very creative and imaginative with their details, including aliens, food items, and space junk!

When they finished drawing with oil pastel, students painted their entire artwork with black watercolor paint. This is called resist, because the oil pastel resists the watercolor paint, and allows the oil pastel outer space objects to stand out. We also shared our work through a gallery walk and a turn and talk, where we partnered up to share our artwork with each other.