Fall Trees Version 2

I was looking at my Fall Trees project and wanted to try a variation.

Bright blue sky with vibrantly colored leaves on the trees...this is what we came up with.


Ryan, age 10, completed this beauty.

We tried white for our tree trunks to look like an aspen or birch but I found it too winter like....( future Jan. project)....so I think we will stick with black.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:
- watercolor or tempera paints
- watercolor paper
- painter's masking tape (optional)
- drinking straws
- cotton swabs or Q Tips
- acrylic or liquid tempera paint in fall colors

I like to tape off my watercolor paper with painter's masking tape to give me a clean white border on my finished project.

It makes for a nice presentation on the bulletin board at school as well.

Draw in a horizon line in pencil.  For more info on horizon lines see my lesson here.

Paint in a sky with watercolor.  You want a nice graded wash so I get the kids to first wet the paper with plain water and then add some color.  You want it darker on top and fading as it reaches the horizon.

Paint in the ground on the bottom half of your horizon.
  I tried a sample without a horizon just sky and it seemed the tree needed the extra color around the trunk of the fallen leaves.

Leave to dry.

Mix up some black paint to an inky consistency (you could also use India ink).  Using a paintbrush paint in the beginning of the trunk from the ground.

Using an eyedropper (save the ones from liquid medicine) drop in some paint and have the kids blow in the rest of the trunk and the branches.

Continue to add paint where a branch is needed and continue blowing until you are happy with your tree.

Leave to dry.

Dab into acrylic or liquid tempera with cotton swabs and add leaves to your trees.

Include some fallen leaves on the ground.

Less tends to be more in this case.  You don't want to overdue and lose the branch detail on your trees.

Here is Jeff's, age 7, version.

I plan on doing these with Grade 2.


Take care and we will be back with more art adventures soon!

UPDATE: Here are the Fall Trees (version 2) that the Grade 2's completed this week in time for Parent/Teacher interviews! Click on to see larger if you wish.  Great job Grade 2!