Dutch canal houses groupwork

Part of the groupwork, made by students of grade 4

You need:

1. white drawing sheets
2. tempera paint
3. brushes
4. pencil
5. glue plakkaatverf

After a request of Amy Baldwin, art teacher in Millington, my 4th graders painted Dutch canal houses for the Empty Bowl fundraiser in Millington (Mi).

Before starting to paint, we talked about the Dutch Golden Age, a period roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. In this century many of the typical canal houses were built, in that age used as store houses. We looked at pictures of canal houses, discussed the different kinds of gables (neck gable, trep gable, bell gable) and details of the houses (windows, year it was built, stairs).

Every students gets a sheet of paper and has to draw a line on 8 cm of the bottom - this is for the canal. On the left side of the sheet there must remain a white strip of 2 cm (to paste all paintings together).

Every student draws his own canal house. Stop drawing after 5 minutes, to avoid drawint to many details. Paint the house with tempera paint. Mix colours, or for even better results: take two colours of paint on your brush and mix a little while painting.

Paste all paintings together to make a long street. Paint the canal. You might even add the words  'Groeten uit Holland'!

Click to see full site.

Same animal, different colours

Made by a student of grade 1

You need:

1. two white drawing sheets A4 size
2. oil pastels
3. liquid water colour
4. brush
5. jar with water

A lesson about cool and warm colours.

Draw an animal on a white drawing sheet. Be sure it's not too small. Ask the teacher to make a copy of this drawing. Colour the first animal with oil pastels in warm colours, the second one in cool colours. Paint the background with liquid water colour, using warm and cool colours as well.

Paste both drawings below or next to each other on a large white sheet. 

Peaks and valleys

Made by a student of grade 2

You need:

1. drawing sheet A4 size
2. crayons in bright colours
3. watercolour paint
4. brushes
5. jar with water

Discuss with the students the difference between hills and mountains. When do we call something a mountain, when a hill? What does the top of hills look like? And what about the top of a mountain - this can be a sharp point or eroded and round, depending on the age of the mountain. 

Show students step by step how to draw a landscape with hills and mountains. Start with two wave lines Start with two wavy lines on the bottom of the drawing sheet. Draw diagonal lines down from the lowest points. Draw some high mountain peeks behind the hilss and draw a sun behind the peeks.

Fill the mountains and hills with patterns. Use crayons in bright colours. Each mountain should have its own pattern. Paint the mountains and the sky with watercolour paint. Patterns and lines will resist the watery paint.

Outstanding name

By Vincent, grade 3

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A5 size
2. waterproof black marker
3. colour markers
4. black fine marker

Every year we make a birthday calendar in the classroom. For the calendar of this year, we used this lesson. The drawings were pasted on a coloured sheet with the date of the anniversary of the student.

Write your name in elegant letters with a black waterproof marker on a white sheet. Outline the letters with markers in different colors. Divide the background into pieces, by drawing lines from top to bottom and from left to right. Fill out the individual surfaces with patterns drawn with a black fine marker. Make sure that your name really stands out!

Swimmer - like David Hockney

I found this terrific lesson on the blog 'Use your coloured pencils' of Anne Farrell. I used this lesson to tell about artist David Hockney and his swimming pool paintings.

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size
2. coloured paper for background 
3. oil pastels
4. liquid water colour, blue and green
5. brush
6. jar with water

The successful British artist David Hockney was born in 1937 in Bradford, England. He studied at the Royal Academy in London. His first works were anecdotal and ironic. In 1964 Hockney moved to California, where he developed a more realistic way of painting. The main themes at this time, are pools, landscapes and portraits.

From 1966 David Hockney increasingly used photographs for his paintings. He made ​​collages containing just photographs. After 1980, Hockney's work became a more expressionistic character. His work shows influences of Picasso Besides paintings, Hockney also makes drawings and etchings. 

Look at artwork of David Hockney, especially those with swimming pools. Discuss with the students how people look like under water - flowing hair, lighter skin. What causes the shimmering
surfaces on the water and what do they look like?

The students draw one or more people in swimsuits and colour them with oil pastels. Use white oil pastel to draw a water pattern in the background, consisting of wavy horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines.
Paint the picture with blue and/or green diluted coloured ink. The swimmers and the white lines will not resist the ink.

Artworks made by students of grade 4