ARTitude Painting Workshop Examples

Here are the types of examples a student might accomplish in a three hour painting workshop! They are all acrylic. The method is teaching the students to work their painting in layers, and not looking at a painting as though it is a flat paint by numbers project.

I create a new painting for each workshop, mostly because it is fun for me to create the example:) But I also create the example so that I know how to teach it. I love how giving students some boundaries help students stay focused so that they can explore their own unique take on a subject matter. It can be overwhelming for young minds to sit down and have to start something from scratch.

The students mix their own paints and draw their own piece, but are following an example, so every single painting is really an individual masterpiece.

During the painting process we discuss composition, variation, rhythm, balance and technique.

Fifth Grader

First Grader

Fifth Graders

Second Grader

Fifth Grader

Third Grader

Fourth Grader

Kindergarten Art Auction Project

Stacked tea cups

I created a template for the tea cups and the kindergarten students do their cup design with crayon and complete the piece with water color. The number one challenge  on this project was to remind the students not to color the entire cup in with crayon. 

These were my instructions:
1) Create a pattern or design on your cup with crayon. We spent a few moments reviewing line ( zig zag, circles, stars, swirls, etc.)

2) I gave my students four tea cups on one page to work on. I figured I needed to increase my chances on success.

3) After they colored patterns with crayons, I passed out the palettes of water color paint. I needed to remind them that they could work with multiple colors on their cup, but not to mix their watercolors in the palettes.

I'm not a hundred percent happy with the end results. I'm going to repeat the project this week and eliminate the crayon step and see what the students do with more freedom. This time, I'll ask them to simply explore watercolor and play with the color.

Luckily, I have a couple of months to mount and cut out their cups for the final art auction pieces. Five students will be mounted on each piece. They have three other cups that they completed and can keep those to give to their parents. I recognize the children have a hard giving up their artwork, understandably.