Still life with fruit

What do you need?

• corrugated cardboard
• scissors
  
• white drawing sheet
• tempera paint
• brush
• glue
• colored construction paper
• fruit

Instruction

Show still lifes of fruit in different styles, for example Caravaggio and Cezanne. How is the fruit arranged? Why at that way? Which parts are light and which parts are dark? What does that mean? Then provide each group of students with a bowl of different fruit types.

What should you do? 

1. Paint the fruits (no drawing first!) after a good observation. 
2. Cut a fruit bowl out of cardboard. 
3. Cut out the fruits with a small white edge. 
4. Stick them on a colored sheet and let them overlap. 
5. Stick the cardboard bowl. Some fruits will partly disappear in it. 

Artworks made by students of grade 3.

Elements of art: space, color, value. 

Collage of geometric and organic shapes

A lesson to explain organic and geometric shapes and practice cutting and pasting skills.

What do you need?

• black construction paper 18 by 18 cm
• four colored sheets 16 by 16 cm in different colours
• scissors
• glue
• left overs black construction paper

Instruction

A geometric shape is a regular shape. It has a name, like rectangle, circle or square.  An organic shape is a shape from nature. It has no name, it is irregular.

What should you do?

1. Choose four colored sheets and fold them in four quarters. 
2. Cut the folding lines to get 16 squares of 4 by 4 cm. 
3. Put 4 rows of 4 squares neatly against each other on the black sheet. 
4. Paste the squares. 
5. Cut a number of organic shapes out of black paper. 
6. Make a nice composition on the colored background and paste the shapes. 

Artworks made by students of grade 3/4.

Marvelous Medusa?

What do you need?

• black construction paper A3 size
• tempera paint in blue, green, black and white
• brushes
• jars with water

The myth about Medusa

Medusa, a woman from Greek mythology, lived in a country where the sun never shone. Medusa begged goddess Athena to be allowed to move to a sunny region, but Athena refused. Medusa told everywhere that Athena would not let her go, because otherwise no one would pay attention anymore to the beauty of Athena. In another version of the myth Medusa would have made Athena mad because she kissed Poseidon in Athena's temple. Athena took revenge by changing Medusa's beautiful hair into a nest of snakes. Athena also ensured that everyone who looked at Medusa would freeze immediately. Finally Medusa is killed and decapitated by Perseus, with help from Athena. From Medusa's blood the winged horse Pegasos and a giant are born. After this Medusa's head is offered by Perseus to Athena. Athena put the head on her shield to freeze her enemies.

What should you do?

1. Draw Medusa's head with a pencil on the black sheet.  
2. Choose only cool colors to paint face and snakes. 

Artworks made by students of grade 5 and 6.

Op art cube

What do you need?

• white drawing sheet 21 by 29 cm
• pencil
• ruler
• markers
• scissors 
• glue

Give students a copied print of a cube or let them make their own. I did it with a guided instruction.

What do you need?

1. Lay the sheet in front of you with the small side up.
2. Draw dots on top and bottom of the sheet on 7 and 14 cm.
3. Connect the lines from top to bottom.
4. Draw dots on the left and right site of the sheet on 7, 14, 21 and 28 cm 

5. starting at the top of the sheet.

6. Connect the dots. You have 12 squares and 3 small rectangles on the bottom.

 

7. Number the squares from left to right. 
8. Draw a cross in square 1, 3, 4, 6, 10 en 12.

9. Draw strips of 1 cm on the sides of square 2 and 5. 

10. Draw strips on the 3 sides of square 11. 

11. Draw a cross in the remaining narrow strips at the bottom of the sheet. 

12. Draw optical illusions in square 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11. 

13. Color with markers and outline with fine black marker.

14. Cut the cube and paste the sides together. 

All artworks made by students of grade 6.

Dutch flower bulb fields

What do you need?

• drawing sheet 20 by 10 cm
• color markers
• fine black marker
• ruler
• pencil

Situated less than 30 miles from Amsterdam, the town of Lisse is widely regarded as the center of Holland's bulb district. Each spring the area turn into a sprawling blanket of fantastic color as millions of Dutch tulip, hyacinth and daffodil bulbs emerge in perfect rows. 

Show pictures of Dutch bulb fields like these and talk about perspective. 

What should you do?

1. Draw a horizon line about 2 cm from the upper edge. 
2. Put a dot in the middle of this line, the vanishing point. 
3. Draw lines from the bottom and sides towards that vanishing point.
4. Color the bulb fields with bright colours. 
5. Color walkways between the bulb fields. 
6. Color the sky. 
7. Draw with a fine black marker some buildings on the horizon, like farms, windmills etc.

Artworks made by students of grade 4. 

Self portrait like Modigliani

About the artist

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (1884-1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor. Modigliani's paintings fall under Expressionism. He painted nudes and highly stylized portraits. He painted long, oval faces with elongated necks and long limbs, giving the characters a melancholy mood. The skin is often rusty and all forms are outlined. Eyes, noses and mouths are not on the 'right' place, but still offer a balanced and credible image.

Instruction  
Look at Modigliani's paintings with the students and discuss the salient features:

• faces are elongated
• faces are often skewed
• use of warm colors
• all shapes are outlined in black

What do you need?

• black construction paper A4
• oil pastels
• colored paper for background

What should you do you?

1. Divide the black sheet into 8 sections. 
2. Draw an oval, starting at the middle line to slightly above the center of the top section. 
3. Draw a neck from the head to the middle bottom section.
4. Draw shoulders, eyes, nose and mouth. 
5. Trace pencil lines with black oil pastel. 
6. Color the portrait with oil pastels. Do not touch the black lines. 
7. Color the background until you don't see any black. 
8. Paste the work on a colored sheet.

Artworks made by students of grade 4-6.

Half chicken

In this lesson students draw one chicken together. 

What do you need? 

• drawing sheet 
• oil pastels
• blue liquid water color
• brush
• jar with water

What should you do? 

1. Fold a sheet in half.
2. Draw  half a chicken against the fold. 
3. Color with oil pastels. 
4. Draw with white oil pastel one or more eggs. 
5. Mark with two little lines the places where your classmate has to connect and draw a mark for the hight of the horizon line.
6. Give the sheet folded to your classmate; be sure he doesn't see your drawing. Tell him whether he should draw a head or a body. 
7. When your classmate is ready, unfold the sheet. Hilarious!
8. Paint the whole drawing with blue water color paint and lots of water. The oil pastels will resist the water.

Artworks made by students of grade 3.

Fancy chicken

 What do you need?

• drawing sheet A3 
• oil pastels
• tempera paint
• brushes
• colored paper for background 

What should you do?

1. Draw a horizon line on the drawing sheet. 
2. Draw a chicken.
3. Color with oil pastels in bright colors. 
4. Paint a background with tempera paint.

Works of art made  by students of grade 6.

What's in your egg?

 

What do you need?

1. white drawing sheet A5 
2. charcoal
3. yellow sheet for background 
4. hairspray

Surprise!
Imagine you crack your egg on Easter Sunday and it turns out to contain something completely different than egg white and egg yolk ... Draw this fantasy with charcoal on a white sheet. 

Practice first 
Never worked with charcoal? Then practice on a scrap paper first. 

Draw lines, blur them by swiping with your fingers, create shadows, erase the charcoal with a kneaded eraser. Charcoal stains quickly, so clean your  fingers regularly.

What should you do?

1. Draw two halves of an egg. 
2. Draw in between what you imagine is in the egg.  
3. Draw the surrounding. 
4. Fix your drawing with hairspray. 
5. Paste the drawing on a yellow sheet. 

Made by students of grade 3.

Charming chicken

What do you need?

• blue and yellow construction 
• oil pastels
• glue

What should you do?

1. Draw a chicken on the blue sheet, using the tutorial on How to draw a chicken. 
2. Color in bright colours. 
3. Draw a horizon line and color the ground. 
4. Draw something on the horizon line, for example a fence or farm. 
5. Tear the edges of the blue sheet and paste the chicken on a yellow sheet. 

Drawings made by students of grade 6.

April showers will bring us flowers

What do you need?

1. white drawing sheet
2. water color paint
3. ruler
4. white crayon 
5. paint brush
6. water

Before

Dutch weather in spring is a weather type with showers, alternated with sunny periods. We call those typical spring showers 'Maartse buien' (March Showers), while English meteorologists speak about 'April showers who bring us flowers'. 

In this lesson students have to draw spring flowers (tulips, daffodils etc.) during a rain shower.

 
What should you do?

1. Sketch some spring flowers on a white sheet. Make sure your lines are extremely thin. 
2. Draw vertical lines with one centimeter between them using a ruler and a white crayon. Make sure your crayon has a sharp point. 
3. Paint your drawing with diluted watercolor paint. Use a lot of water to make bright colors. The crayon will resist the water paint, so your shower will be very clear!

Athletes in motion

What do you need?

• colored construction paper
• white drawing sheet 
• paperclips
• scissors
• cutting mat and cutting knife
• glue
• marker
• printed silhouette of an athlete 
  
  

What should you do?

1. Put three colored sheets together with the printed athlete on top. Fix with paper clips. 
2. Cut out the athlete and the colored sheets at the same time. Keep moving the paperclips to be sure the four sheets stay together. Use a cutting knife for areas the scissors can't reach.
3. Make a composition that suggests movement and stick the athletes on the white sheet. 
4. Use a marker to fill the background with patterns. 

Artworks made by students of grade 6.

Thanks to A faithfull attempt for this great lesson. 

Olympic athletes

Before

Start with the symbol of the Olympics: the colored rings. What do these rings mean? What colors do they have? How are they placed together? 

Ask some students to assume the position of an athlete, for example a skater or skier. Look at their posture: what is the position of their legs, arms and body? 

What do you need?

• scissors
• glue
• white drawing paper A1 size
• cardboard in Olympic colors
• copy of athlete
• compasses

What should you do?

This is a group work for five students. 

Take a big white sheet, cardboard in the colors of the Olympic rings and at least five copies of the athlete.

1. Each group member cuts an Olympic ring, using compasses and scissors. Be sure all rings have to be the same size.
2. Cut the ring in one place. Take a good look at which one should go forward and which should go behind it. Make sure the cut ends up under another ring so that you don't see it. 
3. Cut out the parts of the sports figure. Stick them in different sports positions around, behind, through and in front of the rings.

Patterned hearts

What do you need?

• drawing sheet 
• crayons
• liquid water color
• brush

What should you do?

1. Fold the sheet into 4 rectangles. 
2. Cut a heart out of a piece cardboard. 
3. Trace it four times with a pencil. 
4. Draw patterns in the hearts with crayons: stripes, circles, zigzag lines etc. Draw different patterns around the hearts.
5. Paint the sheet with liquid watercolor. The crayon will resist the ink.
   
   

Connected hearts

What do you need?

1. white drawing sheet 
2. small piece of cardboard
3. scissors
4. oil pastels
5. color pencils
6. watercolor paint
7. brush
8. pink of red paper
9. glue
10. metallic marker

What should you do?

1. Draw a heart on a piece of cardboard and cut out. 
2. Trace the heart several times on the drawing sheet. Make them overlap and draw on the edges as well. 
3. Draw smaller hearts within the traced ones with half cm space between the two lines. 
4. Draw and erase pencil lines of the overlapping hearts as if they weave together: below - above - below - above. 
5. Color the hearts between the double lines with oil pastels. 
6. Paint the sheet with watercolor paint and let dry. 
7. Trace hearts on both sides with colored pencils. 
8. Paste the artwork on a red or pink sheet.
9. Finish the hearts on the frame with a silver marker.
   
   

Valentine's day (with Jim Dine)

Because of upcoming Valentine's day a lesson about hearts today! Basic colors are red and white (and making pink of these of course).

What do you need? 

• drawing sheet 20 by 20 cm
• cardboard 10 by 10 cm
• pencil and ruler
• scissors and glue
• colored pencils
• markers
• oil pastel crayons
• chalk pastel
• tempera paint + brushes
• different types of colored paper (ribbed cardboard, tissue paper, crepe paper etc.)
• watercolor paint + brushes
• red or pink paper for background

Jim Dine

Jim Dine (Cincinatti, 1935) is a sculptor and popart artist. Hearts, ties and tools are recurrent themes in his art. 

Show his artworks and talk about them. 

Organisation 

Divide the different coloring supplies on several tables. Stimulate students to experiment. How can I make my heart pop up from the paper? Can I combine chalk pastel and oilpastel? What happens when I sprinkle water on tissuepaper? 

Students have to color their hearts and backgrounds by using as many supplies and techniques as possible. They may walk around in the classroom to choose the place with the art supplies of their choice. The only restriction is: are all chairs occupied, choose another supply first. 

What should you do? 

1. Divide the sheet in four sqaures of 10 by 10 cm. 
2. Fold the cardboard, draw a half heart against the fold and cut out. 
3. Trace this heart in the four squares. 
4. Color the hearts with different coloring supplies. 
5. Paste the 4 hearts on a red or pink sheet. 

Works of art made by students of grade 5/6.