Painting
Each lesson Plan focuses primarily on one of the 4 Cornerstones of Art:
Drawing | Painting | Color | Style
OVERVIEW
Our first 2 Color Journals of the year are Reds & Greens. These color journals are fun and easy for students, because they just follow the instructions to mix a lot of very useful versions of one basic color. They’re designed to help students understand the process of mixing and the effect that colors have on each other as opposed to just following formulas and using them as a limited palette. The colors can’t just be remixed following this as if it were a guide. The goal isn’t even to get a specific color, but to learn how pigments behave. The pages should be printed on cover stock so they can be saved in a binder for reference.Grades 3 – 5
Week of Dec 11 – 15
1 Hour & 45 Minutes
Lesson At A Glance
A brief overview of each step. Buttons jump to each section for detailed information.
5 Min -for painting
22 Min – Work on color journals
30 Min – Continue journal moving to reds
17 Min – (Extra) Abstract design
5 Min – Everyone helps
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to convey emotions in artwork.
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- 2B Pencils
- Rulers
- Eraser
1.1 draw
In their sketchpads, have the artists draw tiny pencil drawings in 4 X 4 boxes from imagination or observation. Students can draw anything, but the tiny sketches have to convey an emotion. Spend a few minutes thinking about and planning the tiny drawings. Students should try for a quick “keeper” by the end of artists choice.
While students are working on their drawings, show them the Pinboard (above) of red and green paintings with variations of these colors. This will be an introduction into today’s lesson.
CREATIONS - tap here to open
Use the Student Instructions printout below to distribute to your Creations students. Tap the image to open the PDF in a new window.
Color Journal Practice Painting Fun!
Overview: Advanced students in their 2nd and 3rd years will complete an advanced version of a color journal for their age. They’ll have a choice of two pages, and can do one or both in either reds or greens… or both each.
Print out the Red OR Green Practice Journal PDFs (below) for your Creations students to choose from, and have them follow the instructions at the top.
Have them get out their previous Foundations Color Journals as reference before doing anything else. Then CHOOSE either Reds or Greens for each page. Encourage using one color or the other for each design, although it can look nice to use ONE RED COLOR on a green design for emphasis (The Most Important Spot), and vice versa.
NOTE: It’s ok for students to modify the designs. Making them less complicated is helpful if they find it hard to fill in each area. This project also helps with learning how to control a brush, and a smaller brush should be used.
TIP: turning the paper can help get the brush into tight spots.
- Set up for painting with acrylics
- Mix their own colors and fill the designs, practicing making variations of reds or greens.
When these are dry next week, they can go into student’s folder or binder with their other Color Journals.
Tap images to open Creations Student Instructions and Reference Materials in new windows
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to set up their work area for painting with acrylics.
M A T E R I A L S
- Acrylic paints
- Brushes
- Palette pad
- Water container
- Smocks
- Paper towels
- Color Journals
Paint pigment list:
- Napthol or Pyrrol Red
- Hansa or Light Yellow
- Pthalo Green (blue shade)
- Cyan or Cerulean Blue
- Ultramarine Blue
- Dioxazine Purple
- Magenta
- Burnt Umber
- Raw Sienna
- Titanium White (professional grade only)
2.1 arrange
Make sure they know they should not start squeezing their paint out on the palette paper until you show them the color journal demo. Because we’re not actually painting artwork, the paints will be used in a completely different manner for this exercise.
Color Journal set up – Do NOT squeeze any paints out ahead of time!
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to mix red and green colors.
M A T E R I A L S
- Acrylic paints
- Brushes
- Palette pad
- Water container
- Smocks
- Paper towels
- Color Journals
- Some peanut-free chocolate chips
3.1 talk
If you’re showing the video, dim the lights. Wait untill the end of the demo to hand each student a color journal sheet, that way they aren’t distracted by looking at it.
You can either show the demo video to your students or demo it yourself. Go through the steps on the color journal page and demo at least 2 squares. When the demo is done, answer any questions and hand each student their own color journal paper.
Take a moment to look at the Red page, and point out the special Green Mix that is needed. By mixing a chip each of white and green, the green is diluted and much easier to work with because it is an extremely potent pigment.
Chips that are too small make smaller amounts of mixes, which will be affected too much by the addition of other pigments and become completely different colors.
Chips that are too big waste paint.
You can also bring enough and give a few to every student as a treat if you want.
3.2 DEMO
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.
- “Do all mixing on your palette
- Squeeze ONLY chocolate chip sized paint blobs (be careful with larger tube openings)
- DO NOT let a paint tube touch other colors. Squeeze nearby, not on top of paints.
- Squeeze one “chip” for each dot on the journal formula
- When you need a smaller part of a chip, set the regular sized chip over to the side and get some with your brush.
- Mix ALL of the paint, keeping the blob as small as possible on the palette
- Don’t clean your brush until the last box on each row. Then make sure you do clean it!
- After you paint the first box, add the next chips shown under the 2nd box, and mix into the first blob of paint to get the 2nd box color.
- There is a special color you have to make for the Reds page: Mix a chip of green with a chip of white, to make a GREEN MIX. This helps keep the green from being too strong when mixed into the reds.
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know what happens when mixing pigments to create variations of red and green colors.
M A T E R I A L S
- Acrylic paints
- Brushes
- Palette pad
- Water container
- Smocks
- Paper towels
- Color Journals
4.1 print
Color journal
REDS
1 Page – Opens in new window
Color journal
GREENS
1 Page – Opens in new window
4.2 paint
Students will work on their journalS until each is completed. An activity like this requires a great deal of concentration and following directions. The classroom should be calm so students can focus on their journals. If you can play mellow music, this would be a good time to do so. Encourage more working and less talking. Preview the next 2 weeks of fun lessons as a reward after today’s hard work.
If students don’t finish both journal pages, let them save them for another day. Use the last few minutes to clean up from painting.
If a color looks like purple or brown, then too much pigment is being added OR not enough paint is being made due to small-sized chips.
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to mix green and red shades using acrylics.
M A T E R I A L S
- Acrylic paints
- Brushes
- Palette pad
- Water container
- Smocks
- Paper towels
- Color Journals
5.1 paint
If you’re returning from a previous session, set right up for painting without delay and get started on continuing the Color Journal.
Grades 3 – 5 | 30 minutes
Young artists only need about 30 minutes before most are finishing up. Then you can move on to the next project as students are ready.
Really fast workers can try the EXTRA row at the bottom of their journal page. Make this a challenge!
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to make the most out of their supplies using creative design.
M A T E R I A L S
- Acrylic paints
- Brushes
- Palette pad
- Water container
- Smocks
- Paper towels
- Cardboard or popsicle sticks
- Hot glue
6.1 Choose
1. Make an abstract design
2. Make a paper frame
Remind students that opaque acrylic paints should be painted in the SUNRISE method of dark areas first, and then moving lighter and lighter.
6.2 design
You can decide if you want to present one project or a choice of the two. Either way, students might want to draw a couple of quick ideas in pencil before beginning, but this can be a project that you make up as you go along.
PAPER FRAME Instructions
Draw a 4″ x 4″ square frame opening at least 2 or 3 inches from the edges of the watercolor paper. You can use a ruler or make it by tracing around a template. (Make templates before-hand out of cover stock). You should be able to just see it through the watercolor paper. Then draw a frame shape and design around it. Use regular pointed end scissors (not rounded safety scissors) to make a hole in the center like this: 1) set the whole page onto a small roll of scotch tape on it’s side or a cap from a tube of paint set like a cup. Hold the paper down on the roll or cap with one hand, and gently poke the closed scissors into the center until it breaks through. Then you can push the open scissors into the hole and cut your opening. After you’ve cut the center out, then cut the outside shape last.
Have your students write their name on the back, and then paint the frame in acrylics using the leftover paint and any new mixes of colors if desired. The leftovers will be muted, so bright colors can be added for emphasis.
Set aside to dry. If there’s even more time, you can hot glue some 1/2″ x 4″ pieces of cardboard or popsicle sticks against the back for extra support. Don’t glue them right up on the edge of the center opening though, because there needs to be some room for the picture to be overlapping the edge behind the frame opening. The frame can hold one of the prints we recently made, a drawing, or a photo. It can even be hung on a Christmas tree using a bit of ribbon and taping it to the back.
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know the importance of cleaning up.
M A T E R I A L S
- Paper Towels
- Cleaning wipes
- Sink
- Waste baskets
- Well-lit spot for photos
- Camera or phone-camera
7.1 clean
- Wash hands
- Put art supplies away
- Wipe tables & toss trash
- Remove any smocks (last)
- Check for items on floors and tables
7.2 photo
OBJECTIVES
- Practice and improvement mixing variations of reds and greens
- Understanding how how different pigments affect other pigments when mixed
- Accomplishment in finishing 2 pages and 50 color swatches
- Fulfillment from seeing and controlling colors as they mix
The Troublespots are very important in this lesson but don’t stress out about them. These are great journals and even if done very poorly, will help students understand mixing pigments. But if you can catch problems it’s even better.
Try not to correct too much and don’t make a big deal out of any mistakes. It’s a journal. They should just make a note of the different mix they made and move on.
It’s all good!
TROUBLESPOTS
!!! Squeezing paints out ahead of time – Don’t let students get going before knowing the color journal instructions. This is not like painting.
!!! Not washing the brush after making the Green Mix – The Red journal has a special mix to help soften the effects of the green. If a student makes this right before needing it, they forget to wash it out and use WAY too much of the mix. Have them make the mix before the second row, clean up their brush, and then begin the row.
Not enough paint and/or Larger amounts – There are times when a very small amount of paint is needed to mix in. If students are being skimpy and do not use actual chocolate chip sized measurements, then even very small amounts of paint will drastically affect their smaller portions. So use decent sized chips, and get tiny amounts when indicated.
Mixing on the journal – Don’t let students skip mixing on the palette. There is no way to do this journal without mixing on a separate palette. It not a good idea to mix on a painting either, so this is good practice.
Big blobs – The paint “chips” are used so everyone can measure the mixes fairly accurately. It’s impossible to judge a 3 or 4 chip blob accurately! If someone tries this, see if you can help them by separating the blob into chip-sized bits. Carry a brush and palette knife with you today.
Can’t. Do. This… – If you have a student who simply cannot stand the relatively uncreative process of mixing and filling boxes, set a goal for one row at a time. It’s very rare, but sometimes you’ll see a student not able to do this very well.
ART WORDS
Opaque – Objects or paint that do not allow light to pass through are said to be opaque. ArtSquish color pigments are not opaque, but translucent and some light passes through them for brilliance.This is to allow more versatility. However, the white acrylic paint is very opaque, and when added to any color, even in small amounts, it will change the look of the paint significantly.
Translucent – When some, but not all light can pass through something, such as a color, it is translucent. A stained glass window is translucent and very bright because the light passes through. Paints can also be translucent, and when they are, the light will pass through and bounce off the color underneath and reflect back out..
Pigment – brilliant chemicals are used to make colors and are called pigments. Each pigment will have slightly different qualities, such as being strong or weak; light or heavy. These qualities change how the tubes of pigmented paints will work when combined with others. Practice is the only true way to get to know pigments.
CLASSROOM
PREP
What your room needs
Here are your printable lists and room prep instructions.
Opens in new window
CLASSROOM
MATERIALS
- Paper towels
- Cleaning Wipes
- Sink
- Smocks
- Water Containers
- Waste Baskets
- Well-lit spot for photos
- Camera or camera-phone
- Cardboard or popsicle sticks
- Hot glue
- A 3-ring binder or brad folder for keeping the color journals. These will be needed next week after the paint has dried completely
S T U D E N T
C H E C K L I S T
- 14” x 17” Sketch Paper 2B Pencil
- 4B Pencil
- White eraser
- Acrylic Paint Brushes – All sizes Palette Papers Palette Pad
PREVIEW
Week 17: Printed Gifts of Art
Everyone loves to get art for the holidays, so we’ll create Christmas (or other holiday) gifts for friends and family. Small works on paper are fun and easy to create, and make personal connections that are remembered for many years. Students create a drawing for a small piece of line art and then create a duplicate, or mono-print, using the original as both artwork and a printing plate. Then they paint both to make each one unique.
Week 18: Winter Break
