Whirling leaves

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size
2. watercolour paint
3. brushes
4. jar with water
5. small and broad black marker
6. col0ured construction paper for background
7. glue

Ask students a week before this lesson to take some flat dried leaves. Every student chooses one of his own leaves and outlines it several times with a pencil. Remember to draw not all the leaves in the same way on the paper, because they whirl down from the tree. Make sure some leaves go over the edge; those leaves will later be finished on the background.

Paint the leaves with watercolour paint. Use water to dillute the paint less or more. Choose real warm fall colours and try to make transitions in the colours by using wet in wet technique.

Paint the background blue. Use again the wet in wet technique, and/or choose for wet on dry. You don't have to paint exactly against the leaves, because they will be outlined with a marker.

Leave the work to dry and paste in on a coloured background. Outline the leaves with a thick black marker. Use a fine black marker for drawing the veins, while observing carefully the real leaves. Don't stop with outlining and drawing veins when you reach the background, but go on with it there.

Both artworks are made by students of 11 years old