Lesson At A Glance

Here’s a brief overview of the complete lesson. It’s also on your prep page in the Ready, Set, Go! section (below the lesson).

Colored buttons jump to each section in the full lesson plan below.

10 Minutes – Students sketch still life objects

10 Min – How to do color journal 

5 Min – Gather supplies

27 Min – Students work on journals

40 Min – Students work on darks color journals

10 Min – Use leftover paints

2 Min – Everyone helps

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SCROLL & TEACH

LESSONPLAN

Each section is a different color. Read over once and then you can SCROLL & TEACH using any device you like. It’s designed to work best with your phone.

All materials are suggestions and may be modified as you see fit. We have tried many items, and these seem to allow the most versatility for the cost.

Students draw still life objects.

As students enter, have them select an object from still life library or simple things in the room. Even art supplies will work well. Draw using compressed charcoal or pencil. All students should warm up using life sketching.

Encourage students to use this time well, and not blow it off as “something the teacher made me do”. It can sometimes mean speaking their language, like “level up” for kids who like games. If you still have bad attitudes, find out what’s going on by talking to the student, like you would speak to an adult. Getting this kind of respect can sometimes turn a bad attitude around.

While students work, discuss and show images of Franz Kline.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1910, Franz Kline focused on Abstract Expressionism in his work beginning with an experiment in his studio. In 1948, he was becoming increasingly frustrated with his work, and his good friend Willem de Kooning suggested that he project his art on the wall. Kline did so using a small black and white sketch of a chair. He was struck by the simplistic and abstract beauty of the image, and how it was more about the massive lines and spaces around them than the chair itself. This event was a watershed moment and led to his signature style that made him famous.

Though he experimented with color later on in life, Kline mostly used a limited palette of black thick, rugged lines painted with large housepainter’s brushes on white ground. He said that he wanted the limited palette to emphasize the pure forms of line and spaces in both positive and negative areas; “I paint the white as well as the black, and the white is just as important.”

Many people say that his paintings remind them of calligraphy brush strokes, but Franz Kline accredited his inspiration to New York’s cityscape and atmosphere. He was also inspired by artists such as Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock.

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Use the Blue Color Journal on card stock. It is best if you can watch the video and learn to do the demo yourself, but you can show the video directly to your students if you need help or have a large group that can’t all watch one person.

Tap the 4 arrows icon to enlarge the video to full screen.

Review the demo video and demonstrate to your students, or you can simply display the video on a larger screen for them to watch.

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Brushes should be nylon for springiness and durability. Round brushes are the most versatile.

Paint pigment list:

• Napthol or Pyrrol Red
• Magenta
• Hansa or Light Yellow
• Pthalo Green (blue shade)
• Ultramarine Blue
• Cyan or Cerulean Blue
• Dioxazine Purple
• Burnt Umber
• Raw Sienna
• Titanium White (professional grade only)

Begin setting up for painting. Follow the steps below.

Create a neat work area.

1. Water should be near the palette.
2. Tubes that have a flat cap should NOT be standing up, because they can easily fall into your work or palette.
3. Palette, brushes, water, and paper towel should be on the right if you are right handed or the left, if you’re left-handed.
4. Smocks

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Play music while you walk around encouraging, and helping students stay on track.

Remind your students to squeeze out only what is indicated, and to not try to make larger blobs that seem like 2 or 3 chips. Squeeze out equal sized chips as shown to make the formulas work their best.

Watch students and help them get consistent formulas.

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Students set up their work area for painting in acrylics.

Do NOT squeeze out paint until following the instructions on the first row of the journal.

Ask several people to go get water tubs filled, and others to find smocks. That way you have two or three groups in different areas so you don’t get backed up with lines.

When ready, students will continue to the Darks Color Journal.

Provide the Darks Journal PDF and help your students get started with the first row. Make sure they remember to NOT wash the brush as they move across each row, but ALWAYS wash the brush at the beginning of a new row.

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Explain the project to early finishers. 

Speak to one student at a time, or all at once if everyone looks like they’ll make it.

Tell your students that they can now make a bold dark painting using the leftover paints and the same reference from the warmup time.

Remind them of the work of abstract expressionist, Franz Kline. Explain that accuracy is not as important for this project, but making bold expressive outlines is. The paint and the composition are the main things. It should also go fairly quickly. The paint can be reworked as needed to make it look more satisfying.

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Students clean up their work area.

• Wash hands
• Super-wash brushes if used
• Put art supplies away
• Wipe tables & toss trash
• Remove any smocks (last)
• Check for items on floors and tables

Try to get photos of your student’s artwork. Find a good spot for quick lighting without highlights or shadows from your hands and device. Ideally in-between two strong lights on each side

Have a bunch of amazing supplies ready, and cut a few things apart before-hand in a way that make you look amazing.

Print all of your PDFs from the lesson plan and cut any references apart as needed.

STUDENT’S

MATERIALS

• Sketch Pad
• Charcoal
• Pencils
• Kneaded eraser
• Acrylic Paint
• Palette pad
• Brushes
• Water tub

Week 17: Color Wrapped Presents

Using color in shadows is essential to good artwork. In keeping with the holiday season, we paint a red-wrapped cube-shaped gift with a green ribbon and bow. Students learn the basics of cube shapes and accuracy, as well as using opposites to create shadow colors.

Week 18: Recycled Ornaments

Students will use two empty water bottles to create an old fashioned-looking ornament. The top of two bottles are cut off and glued together, but before-hand, the inside is painted. The result is a is colorful ornament that is so glossy it mimics glass. Ribbons are added and a hanging loop can be made out of the cap and ring.

Use this button to view our parent’s blog. Share the link: http://parentart.org, with your student’s parents so your they can read about the lesson each week.