MonochromaticAbstractPainting

Grade:4thMedium:temperapaint

Studentswilllearnabout(LearningObjectives:1)howmixingwhiteandblackwithahuecreatesatintandshade.2)usingapaintbrushtoblendcolorandapplytoasurface.3)usingarulertodefinegeometricshape.4)makingoneplaceinthecompositioncontrastwiththeresttocreateemphasis.

Author:CynthiaMoring

ElementsofArt/PrinciplesofDesignBalance:thearrangementofelementsthatmakesindividualpartsofacompositionappearequallyimportant;anarrangementoftheelementstocreateanequaldistributionofvisualweightthroughouttheformatorcomposition.Color:thevisiblerangeofreflectedlight.Contrast:atechniquethatshowsdifferencesintheelementsofvisualartsinanartwork,suchassmooth/roughtextures,light/darkcolors,orthick/thinlines.Emphasis:theimportanceassignedtocertainobjectsorareasinanartwork.Line:theflatpathofadotthroughspaceusedbyartiststocontroltheviewer’seyemovement;alongnarrowmarkorstrokemadeonorinasurface;athinmarkmadebyapencil,pen,orbrush.Shape:atwo-dimensional(flat)areaenclosedbyaline.Value:thelightnessanddarknessofaline,shape,orform;ameasureofrelativelightnessanddarkness. VocabularyWords

Diagonal:angled.Horizontal:sideways.Hue:purecolor.Monochrome:1hue.NeutralColors:blackandwhite.

Shade:hueblendedwithblack.Tint:hueblendedwithwhite.Tone:grayaddedtohue.Vertical:upanddown.

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Materials&Supplies• Whitedrawingpaper12”x18”• Classsetof12”rulers• Classsetofpencils• Classset(ormore)offlat

paintbrushes1”-1.5”wide• Classsetofpalettes• Temperapaintinwhite,blackand

onehue(canvaryhuesbyclasseswhichisniceforwalldisplays)

• Papertowels• Tablecovers• Classsetofcircletracingtemplates

(optionalbutlidsworkwell)• Examplesofcompletedstudentwork

thatexhibitsgoodcraftsmanship,interestingcompositionandhassomethinguniqueaboutit

Context(Historyand/orArtists)Manyabstractartistsworkedwithmonochromaticcolorschemes:JosefAlbers,MiltonResnick,AdReinhardt,RichardPousette-DartandPabloPicassoforexample.Firstpresentedin1882inParis,monochromaticpaintingsrepresentedtheideaofsimplifyingelementsandsteppingawayfromrealisticrepresentation.Notallmonochromaticpaintersusedtintsandshadesbutthislessonistointroducetheoverallconcept.AdvancedPreparationCovertables,filleachpalettewiththechosenhue(inthepicturedexampleitisorange)andwhite.Youwillgiveblackoutlater.Putrulers,pencilsandpaperinthecenterofeachtablegroup.Brushesarehandedoutduringtheuseofbrushdemonstration.Tips&Tricks

• Don’tallowstudentstoaddpainttotheirpalettes.Anadultvolunteercandothis.• Savetheblackpaintforthelastpartofthelesson.• Remindstudentsnottopaintwetsectionsnexttowetsections,buttoleavespacesocolors

don’tsmearorbleed.• Askstudentstowritenamesonpaperbeforepaintingstarts,afterdrawingisfinished.• Don’toverloadabrush,spreadalllumpsonthesurfacesmoothbeforereloading.• Thoroughlymixtints/shadesuntilnostreaksremaininthepalette,neveronthepaper.• Distributeplentyofpapertowelsforstudentstocleanbrushes,NOWATER.• Whenmixingcolors:lesspaintofeachportion,lessblackandmorewhitekeepscontrol

(thinkofblacklikepepperwhereasmalldashisplenty,whiteislikesaltwheremoreisok).• Demonstratehowtopullthebrushwiththebristles,notagainstthemtokeepthemaligned.• Optional:demonstratehowtowashabrushproperly:manipulatethebristlesinrunning

wateruntilthewaterrunsclean,airdrybristles-uporlayflat,neverbristles-down.• Adultsshouldcollectpencils,rulerswhilestudentspaint,tokeepsuppliesclean.

DiscussionPointsStudentswilldiscusshowstraight-linedirectionsarelabeledasvertical,horizontalanddiagonal.Theywilldiscusshowacolor’shueisaffectedbytheadditionofwhiteandblack.Theywillobserve

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howtoproperlyloadapaintbrushandapplypainttoaflatsurface.Theywillobservehowtoproperlyuseastraightedgetomakelinesthatcreateacomposition.Theywilldiscusstheimportanceofapointofemphasis.InstructionsforLesson

1) Instructorwillhavethedefinitionofmonochrome(1color),hue,tint(hueblendedwithwhite),shade(hueblendedwithblack)&neutralcolors(black/white)onthewhiteboard.She/hewillhaveatleast1exampleofamonochromaticpaintingandaskstudentstoidentifythehueusedandaskastudenttocometotheboardandpointoutthetints/shades.Askstudents:Howdoestheartistmakeatint?Ashade?Canyoumakemorethanonetintorshade?Ifso,how?(byaddingmoreblackorwhite).She/hecanaskstudentswheretheireyegoesfirstinapainting.Thatisconsideredthepointofemphasisandgivesthecompositionmoreinterest.Contrastofsize,color,shape,texturearewaystomakeoneareastandout.Thislessonusescolorforcontrast.

2) Demonstratehowtocorrectlyusearulersoitdoesn’tslip,andthenon-drawinghandnever

impedesthedrawinghand(i.e.rightiesdrawontherightsideoftherulerandvice-versa),evenifthatmeansturningthepapertomakethelines.(Optional:traceacirclefirsttosetuptheemphasis).

3) Breakthecompositioninto8to10sectionsusinghorizontal,verticalanddiagonallines.Announcethenameofeachdirectionasyoudrawit.Chooseonesectionasthepointofemphasis.Havestudentsdothesameandalsowritetheirnameontheirpaper.

4) Usingthepalette(don’tpassthemoutuntilstudentshavefinisheddrawing)andpassoutdrybrushessostudentscanmimic,demonstrateloadingthebrushwiththehuecolor,wipingonesideoffontheedgeofthepaletteandfillinginthechosenshape.Paintslowlyandmethodically,beginningwiththeedgesandsmooththelumpsbeforereloading.Youmayevenpracticethisonscrappaperfirst.

5) Demonstrateaddingasmallamountofwhitetoaportionoftheoriginalhue,scrapingfromthe

edgeofthepaint,mixinguntilallstreaksaregone,thenapplyingtoasection.Repeatwithadditionalwhitepaintagainandagainuntil3to4sectionsarecovered.Letstudentsdothis,thenhavethemstoptowatchthenextdemonstration(ifnotallstudentsarefinishedwaituntilmostofthemare).

6) Pourablobofblackpaintonyourpalette.Demonstratehowtomixgray(abitofblackaddedto

mostlywhite).Applythattoasection.Studentscanchoosetoaddgray(makesatone)orblacktothehuetofinishthesections.Eachsectionshouldbedifferent,noblacksections.Remindthemtopaintseparatedsectionssowetpaintdoesn’tbleedorsmear(youcanshowthismistakeonyourownpainting).

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7) Demonstratehowtocleanthebrushwithapapertowel:itremovesextrapaintwithoutexcesswater.BUTwhenswitchingfromtinttoshadethebrushshouldeitherbechangedforacleanone(adultscanprovidetheseasneeded)orthestudentshouldwashandDRYthebrushthoroughly.

8) Demonstratewithacleanbrushhowtopaintstraightlinesovershapebordersthataredry.If

timeisshortstudentscanattempttogooverwetareasinordertogetthelinespainted.

9) Astheyfinishyoucanofferunneededpalettestothosewhoaren’tfinishedratherthanpourmorepaint.Collectunusedpaintinonecontainerforfutureuse,orscrapeintothegarbage.Neverwashlargeamountsofpaintdownthedrain.

10) Followupdiscussion:askstudentstodefinenewvocabularywords.Hangbestexamplesonthe

wall(evenwet)tolookforpointsofemphasis,goodcraftsmanshipandinterestingdesign.Saysomethingdifferentabouteach.

ReflectionPoint(AssessmentofLearningObjectives)Studentsdrawstraightlineswitharulertoform8-10sections.Studentschooseonesectionandpaintitwiththehue.Studentsmixwhitewiththehueindifferentratiostofillinapprox.halfofsections,andblackwiththehueindifferentratiostofillintherest.Studentsuseblacktooutlineallsections.Studentsdon’tapplystreakedorlumpypaint.Studentskeepcolors’integritybycleaningtheirbrushesbetweentintsandshades.Studentswillrecognizeartvocabulary.

ReferencesandAttributionsStudentsatCougarRidgeElementarySchool.

NotesforEducators

21stCenturyThinkingSkillsObserving,makingconnections,visualizing,sequencing,comparing/contrasting,findingevidence,cause&effect,evaluating,decisionmaking.

WashingtonStateLearningStandards(VA:Cr2.1.4):Exploreandinventart-makingtechniquesandapproaches.(VA:Cr2.2.4):Whenmakingworksofart,utilizeandcareformaterials,tools,andequipmentinamannerthatpreventsdangertooneselfandothers.(VA:Re9.1.4):Applyonesetofcriteriatoevaluatemorethanoneworkofart.(Doesithavegoodcraftsmanship?Isitinteresting?Doesithavesomethinguniqueaboutit?)(VA:Cn11.1.4):Throughobservation,inferinformationabouttime,place,andcultureinwhichaworkofartwascreated.(Relatemonochromaticchoicesastheypertaintoabstractart).