Portraits like Rembrandt

You need:

1. drawing sheets A4 size
2. charcoal
3. paper towels
4. black construction paper for background 

Chiaroscuro is a tecnnique in artworks which display an extreme contrast is between light and dark to create a dramatic effect. 

Titus, son of Rembrandt van Rijn (Rembrandt, 1660)

Narcissus, the man who fell in love with himself, Caravaggio (1597-1599)

Show these two paintings. What do you see? Where are the dark parts, where the light ones? Why is that? What's the artists goal? What do you feel when you see these paintings?

Students sit in pairs facing each other and create a portrait of each other using hatching and swiping techniques. Of course the background is dark, the face light.

by students of grade 4  

Insects

 You need:

1. crayons
2. black construction paper 20 by 20 cm
3. black paint
4. brush
5. toothpick

Color a drawing sheet with crayons. Paint the entire sheet black and let it dry.  Scratch insects with a toothpick. 

 Paste the artwork on a coloured background.

Dutch canal houses: indian ink and soft pastels

You need: 

1. drawing sheets
2. pencil
3. ruler
4. indian ink
5. dip pen
6. soft pastels

Dutch canal houses are famous for their facades: stepped gable, neck gable, bell gable, clock gable or spout gable. Show pictures of those five gables and discuss them. Show photographs from canal houses and discuss the other features of canal houses: the stairs, symmetry, windows, ornaments, shutters. 

Students draw a line on their sheet about 5 cm from below. This is the canal. At the end you can glue all drawings together to get a long street full of canal houses. Sketch the houses lightly with a grey pencil. Indicate the places of windows, stairs, doors and shutters. Draw small boats in the canal. Draw the houses with indian ink and color them with soft pastels.

by students of grade  6