2nd Grade- Van Gogh Chalk Pastel

We read and discussed "The First Starry Night" written and illustrated by Joan Shaddox Isom. The book is a fictional account of the artist Vincent van Gogh's real life short stay in Arles, France.

Isom's illustrations for her book were inspired by Van Gogh, and so were ours. We used short lines and overlapping colors to create movement in our artwork.

Van Gogh often painted his emotions. He used bright yellows, oranges, and gold to express happiness (see "Sunflowers"), and many shades of blue were used to express a calmness or sadness (see "Starry Night").

Vincent van Gogh painted hundreds of paintings, including three versions of "Starry Night" and countless "Sunflowers", but he only sold one painting during his lifetime.

Oh, he also cut off a piece of his left ear in a fit of rage. Yikes!

1st Grade- Texture Town Collage

For this landscape project, we learned about perspective. When something is far away from us, it can often seem much smaller that it would if it was close to us. We kept that in mind as we drew our architecture and landscape.

Then, we used texture rubbing plates to create the illusion of texture on our buildings. This kind of texture is called implied texture.

Texture is all around us. It is the way something feels. Texture is important because it can show us how something feels before we touch it. Texture can even help protect us because if we are able to use visual clues to see the different textures of porcupines and bunny rabbits, for example, we will know which one we'd rather pet.

Once our textured buildings, trees, and plants were complete, we cut them out and glued them to layered paper to create a collage.

For more fun with landscapes, click here: http://www.schoolsliaison.org.uk/kids/landscape.htm