Art Classes: Level IV

LEVEL IV-ART LESSON 11: THE STILL LIFE WITH TINTS AND SHADES

LEARN TO CREATE THREE-DIMENSIONALITY WITH TINTS AND SHADES OF ONE COLOR

The lesson is suitable for students in grade 6 through adult.

Art Lesson Description:

If the idea of painting a still life arrangement seems like a mere exercise in painting some boring objects, think again. Throughout history, artists have been painting arrangements of everyday objects to make commentary on the life and ideas of their time.

In this lesson you’ll learn about some of the ideas that artists have been trying to communicate through their still life paintings. Then we’ll draw an arrangement based on the idea of travel.

After learning about making tints and tones, we’ll make a monochromatic painting of our still life using just one color and its tints and tones. Once you’ve finished that, you’ll be ready to arrange and paint your own still life to make a big statement with a few simple objects!

This lesson includes both POWERPOINT and VIDEO versions of the lesson plus 2 downloadable printouts: a warmup and a drawing of the still life.

List of Supplies for Each Student:

A printout of the warmup (this is included with the lesson)
A fine tipped permanent black marker (#ad)
A printout of the drawing of the still life for the video version (this is included with the lesson)
An HB or a #2 pencil
Set of brushes (#ad)
A sheet of 11" x 15" watercolor paper (#ad)
Masking tape (#ad)
Drawing board: (#ad) (Make your own by cutting an 18" x 24" piece of 1/4" masonite)
White, black, and one color of medium-value tempera paint (#ad) or acrylic paint (#ad)

Suggestions for Cross-Curricular Connections:

Learn about artists and their history:

Learn a history of still life painting.
Get an introduction to cubism.
Just Behave, Pablo Picasso! (#ad) For every young artist who's drawn something other kids think is "ugly," this story of rebellion and creativity is sure to inspire.
Learn who is Georges Braque?
Meet famous art works in Babar's Museum of Art (#ad)
Go on a romp through New York City to find famous paintings with You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum (#ad)
Learn about life in The Netherlands during Pieter Claesz’s time in the 1600’s with Pieter Claesz: Master of Haarlem Still Life (#ad)
Learn more about several artists in this lesson and their times in Artists You Should Know: Profiles for Kids (#ad)
Learn more about Vincent Van Gogh’s life and paintings.
Find an entertaining introduction to Van Gogh In the book, Garden with Van Gogh (#ad)