Autumn trees near the water

What do you need?

1. light blue drawing paper A4
2. oilpastel crayons
3. tempera paint in autumn colours
4. brushes

What should you do?

1. Fold the paper in half. Above the fold is the country, below is the water. 
2. Draw on the upper side with oilpastels some trees without leaves in the grass and color them firmly. 
3. Draw below the fold the reflection of these trees. Color them less thick.
4. Make leaves on the trees at the upper side by tamponing warm colors tempera paint with a brush. Don't mix up the colors but use two colors on the same time. 
5. Fold the sheet when the paint is still wet to get the reflection on the lower side of the sheet. Press gently but do not rub!

Works of art made by students of grade 4. 

Owls in the tree

You need:

1. grey construction paper
2. two thick and large white drawing sheets
3. brushes
4. scissors and glue
5. linoleum 12 by12 cm *
6. lino knives
7. flat piece of glass
8. block printing ink
9. lino press
10. linoleum roller

* Or use foam to make the prints.

Before the lesson: 

• Have two students paint a large sheet of thick white paper with brown tempera and accents in yellow and red to create a wood structure. 
• Let them paint another large sheet in warm autumn colours.

This painted sheets can be used by all students for tearing branches and tree trunks and cutting leaves.   

What should you do? Lesson one: 

1. Draw an owl on linoleum. 
2. Cut the outlines, wings, eyes, claws and beak. 
3. Decorate with small patterns. 
4. Print the owl several times in two colors and let dry.

Lesson two: 

1. Tear a tree trunk and branches from the brown painted paper. 
2. Cut leaves from the autumn sheet. 
3. When dry: cut the printed owls with a little edge (1 or 2 mm). 
4. Look for a great composition and paste everything on a grey sheet. 

Works of art made by students of grade 7. 

Autumn birches

You need: 

1. drawing sheets A3 size
2. painters tape in several widths
3. liquid watercolor paint in red, green and yellow 
4. brushes
5. tempera paint  
6. stipple brush
7. old shopping card/customer card
8. saucers and jars

Choose thick drawing paper,  to avoid ripping when you remove the tape . 

Look at birch trees. What do you see?   

 

• straight trunks
• trunks are white
• horizontal peeling bark
• autumn color leaves: orange, yellow, brown, red

What to do?
Step 1
Place the sheet on the table with the narrow site down.  Stick strips of tape from top to bottom. Wide for the trunks, narrower for the branches. Note: branches grow up! 

Step 2

Paint the background in strips with diluted liquid watercolor. Let dry. Peel off the tape carefully. 

Step 3

Put some black tempera paint on a saucer. Dip a customer card in the paint. Pull this in several places from left to right (or right to left!) to halfway up the trunk to make the black streaks.

Step 4

Spray some warm colors tempera + green on a saucer.  Stipple leaves at the top of the trees using the stipple brush. Do not mix the colors, but use several colors at the brush at the same time. 

Step 5

Hang up! 

Works of art are made by students of grade 1. 

Positive negative pumpkin faces

You need:

1. black construction paper A4 
2. orange construction paper A5
3. ruler
4. pencil
5. scissors and glue
6. cutting knife

What should you do? 

1. Divide in four rectangles.  
2. Divide the four black rectangles each in two rectangles. 
3. Divide the orange sheet in four rectangles; each rectangle is as big as a half black one.
4. Draw half of a pumpkin against the edge of an orange rectangle. 
5. Draw one eye, half of a mouth and a nose and cut out with a cutting knife.
6. Cut the outline of the pumpkin. 
7. Paste the half orange pumpkin against the edge of a black rectangle. Paste eye and mouth on the opposite side of the pumpkin.
8. Repeat these steps to make the other three pumpkins.

Pumpkins like Yayoi Kusama

 You need:

1. black construction paper
2. colored paper
3. black marker
4. black fineliner
5. scissors and glue
6. white pencil

About the artist
Yayoi Kusama (1929) is a Japanese artist. She creates paintings, sculptures and large installations with mirrors and lots of light, symbolizing infinity. All her artworks have one thing in common: polka dots. That's why she's affectionately known as 'the princess of polka dots'. 

From an early age Kusama wanted to make art, but her traditional Japanese parents didn't like this. That's why Kusama left for NewYork and joined artists there, including Andy Warhol. 

By adding all-over marks and dots to her paintings, drawings, objects and clothes she feels as if she is making them (and herself) melt into, and become part of, the bigger universe. She said:

‘Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos. Polka dots are a way to infinity. When we obliterate nature and our bodies with polka dots, we become part of the unity of our environment’.

View and discuss artwork of Kusama. 

• use of large and small polka dots 
• backgrounds are often filled with triangles
• use of bright colors
• her installations suggest infinity

What to do?

1. Draw three pumpkins on the colored sheets and cut them.
2. Draw bigger and smaller dots on the segments using black markers.
3. Draw triangles on the black sheet with a white pencil - start with a zigzag line.
4. Paste the pumpkins on the black sheet.

Works of art are made by students of grade 4. 

Catching leaves

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A3 size
2. oil pastels
3. liquid water color paint
4. brushes

What should you do?

• Trace your hand (thumbs point to each other) on the bottom of the sheet.
• Color them with oil pastels. 
• Draw some swirling autumn leaves above the hands and color them with oil pastels. 
• Paint the background with diluted liquid water color paint leaving some space on the edges.
• Variant: choose real autumn leaves instead of drawn ones. Stick them on the drawing AFTER painting and drying the background.

Works of art made by students of grade 3. 

Autumn leaves with tissue paper

You need:

1. white drawing 
2. tissue paper in autumn colors
3. brush
4. jar with water
5. white crayons

What should you do?

• Show different shapes of autumn leaves. Discuss shapes and colors. 
• Draw different leaves on the sheet with white crayon. 
• Tear parts of tissue paper (not too small). Use warm autumn colors. 
• Stick the pieces by wetting the sheet part by part and laying them in it. Watch out: no two same colour pieces next to each other. Be sure the tissue paper is wet enough to bleed.

• Let the artwork dry a little. When it's still moist a bit, pull of the tissue paper.

Works of art made by students of grade 3. 

Autumn leaves in cubist style

You need:

1. white drawing paper A4 size
2. pencil
3. ruler
4. tempera paint
5. brushes
6. gold color marker

Ask students to take autumn leaves. Watch them together, paying particular attention to the shape: heart-shaped, oval, round, oblong, etc. The composition of the leaves may vary: a leave can be single or composed of several leaflets (pinnate or palmately).

What to do?

1. Draw several leaves, they may not overlap. Draw half leaves against the edges. Draw only the outer form of the leaves, so no veins. 
2. If the is largely filled, draw diagonal lines using a pencil and ruler: two from left to right and two from top to bottom. Make sure these lines pass through the leaves. 
3. Paint the drawing with four warm colors tempera: two colors for the leaves and two for the background. Paint the leave parts within a shape in one color and the background in a different one. Paint the leaves in the next square in a third color and the background with color four. 
4. Trace contour lines of the leaves and the diagonal lines with a gold marker.

Works of art made by students of grade 6.

Whirling leaves

You need:

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

Ask students 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; these will later be finished on the background.

Paint the leaves with watercolor paint. Use water to dillute the paint less or more. Choose warm fall colors and try to make transitions in the colors 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 later.

Leave the work to dry and paste in on a colored background. Outline the leaves with a thick black marker. Use a fine black marker for 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.

Works of arde made by students of grade 6.

Autumn leaves mandala

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size
2. compasses
3. pencil
4. oil pastels

Draw a circle with a diameter of 20 cm. Draw within about 1 cm another circle (the edge of the mandala). Cut out and fold into 8 pieces. Draw against one of the folds half of an autumn leaf using black oil pastel.

Fold the sheet and press firmly with the hands to get a print of the leaf on the other side of the fold. Trace this half with black oilpastel. Repeat this and draw the other three leaves. Colour the leaves and background with oil pastels in warm colours. Colour the edge with a nice pattern.

All works of art made by students of grade 6.

It's warm blanket time!

Days are getting shorter, nights are getting colder. 

Time for a warm blanket!

What do you need:

1. colored paper for background
2. brown paper 
3. leftovers of colored and white paper 
4. quare white paper
5. watercolor paint + brushes
6. crayons
7. black marker
8. scissors and glue

Divide this lesson over more moments. Consider in advance whether you will give students a template of the bear's head or whether they' ll have to draw it themselves. 

Folding and painting: 

For the blanket: fold the white sheet into 16 squares. Paint each square in a different color. Let dry. Draw stripes with a crayon on the folds of the squares just like on a patchwork blanket. 

Cutting:

• draw a bear's head on brown  paper and cut out or trace the template and cut out. 
• legs: cut four ovals out of brown paper. 
• snout: cut a circle out of colored paper. 
• ears: cut two half circles out of colored paper. 
• eyes: cut two small circles out of white paper. 

Pasting and drawing:

• stick the hind legs on the colored sheet. 
• stick the blanket so that legs come out from underneath.
• stick the head halfway on the blanket and the front legs underneath.  
• stick snout, eyes and ears on the head.
• draw nose, whiskers and pupils with a black marker. 

Works of art made by students of grade 1.  

Techniques: folding 16 squares, cutting shapes, pasting. 

Elements of art: shape, color. 

Pumpkin, like Burton Morris

 You need:

1. several colors construction paper
2. black cardboard 20 by 20 cm
3. colored cardboard 20 by 20 cm
4. scissors
5. glue
6. black marker

Burton Morris (Pittsburgh, 1964) is an American pop-art artist. He is influenced by pop-art artists from the 60's and 70's, like Warhol, Lichtenstein and Haring. Now he is one of the most famous modern post pop-art artist. Morris's work shows a contemporary twist to traditional pop-art. His work is cheerful, energetic and colourful. His characteristic lines with the bright colors give his work a fantastic energy. Morris's work is known of tv-series like Friends and also appears in major advertising campaigns by U.S. companies like AT & T, Pepsi and Heinz. 

Step by step description with photo's, see my other post about Burton Morris. 

And read the mail I got from Burton Morris when he came across my lesson of 2011: 

Dear Jacquelin,

I came across your blog and saw your student's artworks. I am truly touched that you honored my artwork in your teaching lessons and hope it was a success and inspired the children! 
I hope to show again in the Netherlands one day and feel free to keep in touch.
Your friend,
Burton Morris

Haunted house in the moonlight

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size 
2. black construction paper
3. yellow chalk pastel
4. scissors
5. cutting knife
6. glue
7. white pencil
8. black marker
9. blue and purple tempera paint
10. sponge
11. saucer

This lesson is all about Halloween and haunted houses. 

What to do? 

• Tear a strip of black paper from about 5 cm and paste it on the bottom of the white sheet: the ground. 
• Draw a old house on black paper and cut out.
• Use a cutting knife for doors and windows. 
• Paste the house on the white sheet. 
• Use a white pencil for details such as bricks, ghosts, spiders, spider webs etc. Use a black marker to draw things in the open window.
• Cut and paste a moon. 
• Outline moon and house with yellow chalk pastel and smudge the chalk outwards. 

• Stamp the background with purple and blue tempera and a sponge. 
• Finally paste the artwork on a yellow background sheet.

Halloween cat and window

Made by a student of grade 4

You need:

1. white drawing sheet
2. liquid water colour paint 
3. brush
4. black construction paper 
5. cutting knife and mat
6. glue
7. black marker 
8. white chalk pastel
9. carbon paper
10. pattern

Paint a white sheet with yellow and orange liquid water colour paint. Enlarge the pattern and trace it on the black sheet using carbon paper. Put a cross in the parts that have to been cut. Cut the pattern and paste it on the coloured sheet.

Draw Halloween details with black marker. Use the white chalk pastel for details on the black paper. 

Source: halloweenwitchesflyinmachine.blogspot.nl/

Autumn birches

Made by a student of grade 6

You need:

1. drawing sheet
2. masking tape
3. tempera 
4. stippling brushes
5. charcoal
6. chalk pastel 

See photos of birch trees and discuss the salient feautures : the long white stem, the gray black lines as a result of the horizontal peeling the bark, the many autumn colours of the leaves. Talk about the colours of the leaves on the floor: in front uou see a lot of different colours, and looking further away they merge into one colour.

Explain how to work with a stippling brush: no mixing colors, but put the brush in several colours at once and then stamp lightly. 

Paste from above a number of strips of masking tape on the sheet in various lengths. Draw a horizon line. Stamp the bottom in several autumn colours, merging into one colour near the horizon line. Stamp the remaining leaves in the trees. There may be green there too! Leave the artwork to dry and then colour the sky with chalk pastel. Pull the masking tape off carefully . Draw with charcoal the specific birch dashes .

Singing in the rain

Artwork made by a student of grade 1

You need:

1. white drawing sheetA2 size
2. crayons
3. liquid watercolour
4. brush

Students draw a person under an umbrella and colour it in with crayons. Then they draw raindrops with white crayon. Paint the entire drawing with liquid watercolour.

Be sure that:

• rain falls from top to bottom;)
• under the umbrella is no rain
• rain is transparent, so we draw with white on white!
• rain forms puddles on the ground

Spider in coloured web

Made by students of grade 2

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size
2. blackoilpastel
3. autumn leaves
4. liquid water colour in orange and green

Divide the sheet with a black oil pastel in eight parts: two diagonal lines, one vertical and one horizontal. Draw a web between those lines. Draw one or more spiders in the web.

Colour the different parts with liquid water colour in orange and green.

Four season trees

 

You need:

1. four white drawing sheets A6 size (postcard)
2. Q-tips
3. tempera paint
4. coloured corrugated cardboard
5. silver and gold markers
6. fiberfill
7. glue

How can a deciduous tree tell you what season it is? What colours do they have in spring, summer and fall? What does a tree look like in winter?

Discuss these questions at the beginning of this lesson. Write on the board the colors in the spring heard (light green, green, white, pink - blossom), which belong to the summer (green, dark green, yellow) and the autumn colours (brown, orange, red, yellow). And in winter there aren't any leaves. left of course.

 

The students will make a tree for every season. The colours of the leaves have to show what season it is. The log is "painted" with a Q-tip, the leaves have to be may only be spotted. Remember that in fall there are a lot of leaves on the ground! Use fiberfill (snow) for the tree in winter.

 

Paste the trees next to each other on a piece of corrugated cardboard. Design it with gold or silver marker and write the seasons above the trees.  

Organisation:

Give each groep of six students an eggtray with several colours of paint. Give each student a Q-tip to paint the trunk. Per groep een eierdoos met de verschillende kleuren verf. Geef de leerlingen elk een wattenstaafje voor de boomstam.For the dots: one Q-tip per colour for common use.
 

Artworks made by students of grade 3

 

Thanks to Maureen Kaal

Owls in the moonlight

Background of dilluted water colour paint 

You need:

1. drawing sheet 60 by 25 cm
2. white drawing sheets
3. brown wrapping paper
4. indian ink 
5. liquid water colour paint
6. brushes
7. pieces of styrofoam
8. pencil
9. flat piece of glass
10. paint roller
11. block printing ink
12. chalk pastel
13. saucer

Background of dilluted water colour paint  mixed with a drop indian ink  

Part one:
Put a saucer on the big sheet. This piece of paper remains white; the moon. Paint with highly diluted indian ink or liquid watercolor (also dilute it with water) and a large brush in one direction. Make sure the dish does not move. Paint with big strokes and leave the edges a little white. Let this dry.

Part two:
Divide the class into two groups. Group 1 paints the branch, group 2 is going to print owls.

Branch painting:
Paint with indian ink a branch with side branches on the painted sheet. Remember that a branch becoming thinner towards the end. Do not paint around the moon, but through it. If the branch stands out too little against the gray background, outline the branches later with white chalk for a better contrast.

Printing the owls:
Group 2 will start with the owls. Give each student two pieces of styrofoam. Students have to press two different owls in the foam. Put some blockprint paint on a glass plate. Roll the paint on the piece of foam. Then place a sheet (remember to write names on each sheet!) and rub with flat hand over it. Pull off the paper. Create several prints in different colors and on different kinds of paper. In this lesson we used white paper and brown wrapping paper.

A student who has finished printing, takes place on the painting table and paints his branch. Students who have completed the branch, follow up with printing.

Next day:
When the owls are dry (with block print this takes at least a day), they have to be cut leaving one millimeter space around. Use yellow chalk to draw a circle around the moon. Paste the owls on the branches.

Background of dilluted indian ink, branches outlined with white chalk pastel 

All artworks are made by students of grade 4