Working on New Projects

Here is a project I'm testing out for Grade 3. It's from a new Art Book from Usborne and I'm making samples and refining the process so it will work at school. It is a pastel resist for water reflections.





I first tape off some wc paper on my art board.....




Then using white pastel I draw in a moon or sun and where I want my reflection to go....I'm using yellow pastel here so you can see the example. For the lesson I will also have the kids do a pencil sketch for their horizon, middle ground and foreground.






My reflections increase in size as they move into the foreground.





You are then supposed to add some hills in the background......I think for the kids I will have them paint in the sky fully first and then paint in the hills on top....by changing the order you don't have to be so careful maintaining the edges in your hills...much easier for kids.




Paint in your sky....the pastel will resist the paint...try to paint this a bit uneven..this adds character to your landscape.





I added some water marks around the moon/sun to create a bit of a haze.




I added some orange yellow to the water line of the hills as well as a bit throughout the water...this builds some depth to the painting.




You then add some shoreline to your foreground....




add some trees...sponge on some leaves...I added some water marks to my shoreline to give it a bit of texture.


Overall not a bad exercise but I think I need to jazz it up a bit for the kids....I'll keep working at it. This shows the importance of trying out a new lesson before going ahead in the classroom...I typically find I need to refine the procedure and often add extra pizazz for the final piece.



While I have my paints out I try out a glue resist idea for Kindergarten. I think if I have the design printed out for the skeleton the kids should be able to follow it with the glue bottle.





Whenever I try a new technique..new paint..or new paper I cut a sample out and put it in my sample book.

Then when I need some inspiration I can go thru my book for ideas.


For planning lessons or projects I always keep my planning notebook close by. I prefer a graph paper one and I fill it with all my ideas...I have several these. I always have more ideas than time. In fact it's hard to shut off those ideas sometimes so I try to jot it all down. I can then go back..sometimes months or years later to review these ideas.


see you soon


gail