Monochromatic Paintings

Our 4th graders were studying the color wheel, mixing colors, and color theory.  We created these paintings in one class period, believe it or not!  I gave the students a 11"x11" piece of paper and instructed them to draw 4-5 geometric shapes on their paper using a black marker.  Next, I walked around the room with my paint tray and let each student choose 1 color of paint to use, plus white and black.  Then I demonstrated how to paint each space with either a tint or a shade of their color.  In fact, I had the students mix their color right inside of the space they were painting.  These paintings were fast, fun, and successful - an Art Teacher's dream come true!

Jasper Johns Target Paintings

During my Jasper Johns unit, the 4th graders created these fabulous bulls-eye paintings.  We created a texture surface to paint on by layering crumpled magazine pages on our paper first.  Next, we traced three different circles on the paper and used tempera paint to add color.  This was a quick one-day lesson where students use a non-traditional surface on which to paint.  We discussed Johns's use of simple imagery and why his art is considered Pop Art.

Jasper Johns Flag Paintings

These paintings took a good 3 weeks to complete, but the final results were quite stunning!  The main idea behind this lesson was to discuss the art of Jasper Johns and his use of simple subject matter and iconographic imagery.  We discussed the main ideas behind Pop Art before we began our flag paintings.  Students were encouraged to think about using colors which represent certain feelings or emotions about our country.  Some ideas they came up were using the color green because it represented the greed of our nation, using the color pink because it expresses happiness and joy to be a part of our great nation.  The paintings were made on three pieces of tagboard, one large, one medium, and one small.  Small pieces of foamcore were glued between each flag to make the flags 3-D.  On the last day, the students worked on writing a description about the American flag, what it symbolizes, and why they chose the colors they did.  With the strong imagery and the descriptions displayed next to them, these flags attracted a LOT of attention at our school.

Be Patient...

It's going to be a  couple of days before I post another Art project on here because I have misplaced the battery charger for my camera (again).  These things happen to me ALL THE TIME and you would think that I would carry my camera bag and keep all of the necessary equipment organized so I don't lose things, but that would make too much sense :)  Instead, I carry different bags to school on different days, throw things in random places, and drive different cars depending on the day.  So, long story short, I need to retrace my steps and find the charger...or, fork out ANOTHER $30 for a new one :(