Harper and Audubon: Bird Portraits

These two teacher examples of the blue jay show the similarities and differences of the two artists' styles

Charley Harper and John James Audubon are two artists who loved the outdoors, especially bird watching. They both made careers as artists who shared their love of birds and nature in their work. They have some differences too, in terms of style - Harper used mostly geometric shapes and simple backgrounds in his abstract works, while Audubon used more organic shapes to create his detailed, realistic birds and habitats. After researching the two styles, the students chose the style they preferred and began planning their collage. 

 

 

 

We also used our class computers to research our birds' natural habitats.

 

Here are a few of our collages as we finished up... 

 

 

 

  

As a final step, we selected partners and critiqued each other, using the "Art Sandwich" technique. The students were very thoughtful about their compliments and suggestions, and were excited to read what everyone had written, and we even had a minute to share a few out loud.