Portfolio illustrating progression in Painting

Transcription

1 Portfolio illustrating progression in Painting FS learning to mix colours, dragging a brush to make straight lines and the effect of water being added to colours whilst working on black paper.

2 Below, two FS children articulate their brushes to replicate the shape of the paper trying to use as many different colours as they can. Though the latter child does not replicate the shape of the paper, what wonderful colours he makes.

3 FS using shaped paper to develop brush movement skills, children echo the shape of the paper mixing different colours for each line and trying not to repeat the same colours. In the back of ARTFILE 3 PAINTING there are many exercises, like these that educate the eye had and muscle.

4 In many schools, Elmer paintings are outlined, colours dictated and in the worst the colours are all premade! Here a five year old works her own squares and infills with her own colours.

5 Sometimes, achievement is limited by our expectations of a child. Here a five year old paints three plastic snakes in the grass. This was what she was thought to be capable of until three adults took groups and looked again at the snakes and at the different environments that could be seen easily. Using marks and colours, children were asked to represent what they saw below are examples from each group:

6 This along with talking and looking at the snakes resulted in the same child producing

7 Though tempting, media such as the Ready-mix paints are very limiting. Once the head of a paintbrush touches the paint, it absorbs it until the brush head is covered. There is no finesse in making colours, the strong pigments limit easy colour mixing, and they are expensive compared to powder. The following observational studies are made by five year olds who use marks and colours to convey information to the viewer. Thomas has cerebral palsy yet here he tries to convey the colours, marks and feel of a Golden Pheasant.

8 A trio study a chicken: Here Chelsea under works the marks but gets the colours right. Here Christian overworks the marks and looses the patterns in the body, but the colours are correct. Both the above children will improve as they get use to replicating the patterns they see.

9 But here, Chloe gets everything just right. To get use to and understand the tools and media, children need to practice skills in a non-confrontational way. Patterning is easy, child friendly and great fun. Below are examples of Year 1 children exploring and exploiting their skills in this way.

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12 The following Year 1 children had enthusiastically developed their pastels skills and in the following flower studies combined these skills along with their newly acquired painting ones.

13 Notice the differing coloured backgrounds. Here, children can choose which colours they work on.

14 As with the Year 1 children, the following pieces are by Year 2 children exploiting pattern in order to find out what a Number 8 brush will do.

15 Here Year 3 and 4 children exploit pattern and colour in creating their fish. All is imagined but built upon the brush skills and colour mixing they have been taught.

16 Powder paint is a very versatile media, here Year 4 children have abstracted designs from a stone and a shell, have infilled the main areas with a powder paint wash and then overworked with a Berol Notewriter.

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18 This school closed for a day and the children went to the beach to gather information for their Art works. On returning each class took a different theme and used different shapes of paper. This Year 4 class worked on a full sized sheet of sugar paper in their chosen colour scheme developing patterns from their day at the seaside. These works took a term to complete.

19 On a later visit, this was the school garden painted by the second children. Marks and colours with no attempt to fill in the background (one of the benefits of working on black sugar paper), One of the areas of concern within the Art curriculum is the over use of observational work at the neglect of imaginative work. A broad balanced curriculum should balance these two aspects. Below are two examples of where children were able to observe but unable to apply the same skills to the imagined observed birds, imagined background.

20 Schools often buy brown as colour, yet it is the easiest colour to make any red, yellow, blue mixed in roughly equal proportions gives brown. This can be lightened with the addition of more yellow (moving towards yellow ochre), rusted by adding more red and darkened by adding blue (moving towards burnt umber). Below are two children enjoying the exploration of browns through their paintings of the school.

21 In the following work, a Year 5 girl has over painted her picture of the school pond with watery white to create the feel and look of moisture. A return to the skills learnt in the first painting shown here.

22 Here, Year 6 pupils have been looking at the work of Klimt and Van Gogh and working their own sun flower in their style. Powder colour can be used as a wash:

23 Or as a poster colour:

24 And, of course, these latter studies by Year 6 children can be overworked with patterns: The following are studies of sections of red cabbage on paper by Year 6 pupils. Having seen how successful these were, a desert spoon of Berol Fabric Media was added and the children painted these onto white cambric lawn and overwork with stitches and coloured threads. Powder

25 colour mixed with Fabric media, when dry and ironed is colour fast on fabric. Once children are aware of the success that showing marks and colours can bring to their work, they can do anything. The following work is by a Year 6 boy and though the flower and the insect are good, what really

26 makes it special is the background. Here he has shown every blade of grass. The following Year 6 portraits show the detail children can achieve in their work.

27 Unfortunately, adults unintentionally create problems when they unthinkingly comment on children s work. It is easy to say, about observational studies, that what the child is producing does not look like the object. Here three children have studied and painted the same owl. Each sees different aspects, each uses their skills to show what is important to them.

28 Which of these is not an owl?

29 There will always be the intuitive, those who can only develop skills as they work on their end pieces, who do not like or want to work ideas out in sketchbooks; but these will be few. Developing skills is essential for real empowerment and anything is possible thereafter. Above, Year 6 land and sea scapes.

30 And finally, two studies of lace by Year 6 pupils using only a No. 8 brush, white paint on black triangular sugar paper. Three hours work, observing and painting. QUESTIONS: What do you use and how do you use it? Do you ever do, what you ask your children to do, with what you give them? If I walked around your school would I only see work on square or rectangular paper? Do you use shaped papers? Do you work on different colours of paper? Do you children know what your brushes can do? Do you ever question why you purchase what you buy? Do children respect the equipment and media? Are your children empowered? Look at A Taught Scheme under the Teaching and Learning tab.