Human Proportions and Color Schemes

Third grade artists are drawing from observation, looking closely at the art room's wooden mannequins. We discussed Proportion, which is a Principle of Design, and looked closely at how the ovals and circles of the mannequins where proportionate to the human body. We learned to draw contour lines, smooth unbroken lines, when we were drawing the ovals and circles.    

Then, we started to add color with watercolors.  First, we studied warm and cool colors, and noted the difference between them.  Students had to chose to put cool colors below the horizon line, or above it.  Then, the next class students painted the warm colors in the opposite spot.

Painting was a little tricky because students were trying hard to control their paintbrushes and not paint inside the mannequin shapes.  They did an outstanding job!

Check out the finished art here on Artsonia, our online Student Art Museum!

http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?project=1027622

2nd Grade Kandinsky-inspired Weavings

Second grade artists learned about the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky and looked closely at his use of line on his abstract artworks.  Then students took a line "for a walk" and created a linear design with a black crayon.  We added textures with texture rubbings after deciding upon a cool color or warm color scheme.  Then we created a loom for weaving by carefully cutting five slits into our papers.   Students began weaving the opposite color scheme into their looms with strips of paper.  Using a white crayon, students added texture to a black piece of construction paper, and glued their paper weavings to this to create a frame.  Last, students added more lines around the border with oil pastels.