Landscape Reflections in 2nd grade

Second graders are finishing their fall-inspired landscape reflection watercolor paintings. They are really terrific! Here's a quick run-through of our steps:

1. Review "landscape" and show some examples that have a water reflection - find the line of symmetry. 

2. Brainstorm different types of landscape settings, like a neighborhood, a forest, a city - don't forget to mention the details.

3. Fold paper in half horizontally and draw a landscape in the upper half only. Trace with Sharpie.

4. Take folded paper to a light box or a window and press the sharpie side against the glass. Trace the drawing in pencil - when paper is opened, it will be a reverse reflection.

5. Ready for paint! Top half is painted with a warm color scheme to represent fall, which is only a few days away - artists are often inspired by the seasons. Bottom half is painted with cool colors, to represent the water reflection. Students may also use neutrals as they wish.

6. As students are painting, we review tips and tricks for good craftsmanship using watercolor.

I hope your first days of fall are as beautiful as our landscapes.

*VIP* Observation drawing part 1: Gesture

VIP usually means Very Important Project in my classroom - something that I feel is crucial to our artistic development. Observation drawing, or looking closely to draw what you see, is not only an important skill for artists, but also for scientists, inventors, and detectives as well - really for anyone who needs to truly understand something. Learning to look closely, or seeing like an artist, is something that takes practice; these activities in my 2-part post on observation drawing are fantastic exercises. Part 1 focuses on gesture drawing and part 2, coming soon, will focus on contour - although these two techniques are opposites, they are both observational exercises.

I start gesture drawing with my 4th and 5th graders in the fall each year, and we go back to them often, as they are quick and don't require any prep and only a few materials. The kids LOVE doing them! To begin, we read and discuss the handout (available in my TPT store ) and I do a quick demo. A student takes an action pose, freezes, and we do a quick stick figure showing line direction of the figure, followed by a sketchy, loopy line that suggests form and movement. The whole thing only takes 30 seconds, and by the 3rd sketch, everyone has got it and they are loving it. We rotate posers and I count down the pose. 

Observational drawing packet from my Teachers Pay Teachers shop - includes vocab for both gesture and contour and printable, projectable handouts https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Observational-Drawing-Gesture-and-Contour-exercises-2656125

Another option is to use wooden mannequins or even sports figures from magazines. Again, start with a fast stick figure to show the line directions, then "flesh it out" with the loopy line, like you are wrapping a string around and around the figure.

In the past, we have turned these figures into Keith Haring style figures by adding a contour outline around the outside of the gesture and filling in with paint. We have also made 3-D versions using a sheet of aluminum foil. 

Coming up next will be part two, contour drawing - please check back soon!

pet pARTners: Art with Heart

We have been having the best time with our community service project, pet pARTners! In case you haven't heard, my smartest artists are working to help solve the problem of homeless pets in our community by raising awareness of our local animal shelter, FurKids, through our artwork. We are posting the artwork on our school's social media and will display the original pieces in the community as well. Our goal is to bring in donations for food and care, and get more animals adopted into forever homes.

In addition to serving our community, which many artists do, we are expanding our drawing skills with careful observation and learning to break down complex forms into simpler geometric shapes. We are practicing good composition by filling the space and including negative space design in the background. We are thinking about how to present our work in the best way.

This will be an ongoing project and we will try out some different media in the next round of portraits. A portion of our Artsonia proceeds and our Artome show profits will be donated to the shelter at the end of the year. Please stay tuned and consider making a donation to FurKids or your own local shelter!

Students can access the FurKids site with current pet photos using our iPads. We also print out pics from the site that gives us a description of the pet's personality.