Second Graders Art Auction Project

Here is my example for the second graders art auction project. As I have mentioned in the past, I always create the project first to make it easier to teach the process. 

These pieces are done on a 6" x 6" watercolor paper. I used painter tape to mask off the birch trees. I think this will be the hardest part of the process for the second grade students. I'm cutting the tape pieces, but they will still have to peal it off and press it down smoothly so that the paint doesn't flow underneath.

The next part is painting the background colors with watercolor, letting that dry and then pulling off the tape. I used a watery blue paint to create the shadows on the tree and the birch lines. In the night version of the painting I put dots of acrylic white paint to make stars.

I'm planning on mounting the two finished pieces side by side from each student on a black board. I don't plan to frame each piece, I'll leave that up to the winner.