Geometric Landscape

Would you like to make sure your students know how to mix a color, in this case green? Then give them one of Crayola’s Watercolor Mixing Sets (which basically only has shades of primary colors) and tell them their job is to figure out how. I asked my students to not only make green, but at least three different shades of green for a simple but colorful abstract landscape.

1. To begin the drawing, I set up a lot of limitations just to keep students from getting hung up on drawing flowers or animals or even a sun. They were to draw at least three triangles trees, with simple trunks, and a wavy ground line.
2. When the pencil drawing was complete, they had the option of tracing their trees and coloring their trunks with brown or black crayons.
3. Next, the fun part, making green. Once the students figured out that the cyan + yellow made a pretty turquoise green, some realized that yellow + the dark blue included in the tray made a nice mossy green. From there, proportions of color could change, or white could be added to make a tint of a color. I encouraged students to leave the ground white, but it was optional. They sky could be painted any color ( I hate to make too many rules).
4. As a followup, small white paper circles made with a hole punch were glued on top to make a sprinkle of snow.
I plan to use this art for our holiday fundraiser, as it makes nice seasonal art that all may enjoy.

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Snowflake Resist Watercolor Grid

I was looking for a quick and colorful project for an upcoming holiday art fundraiser. I think this might work well for all skill levels involved as the drawing is made on one sheet of watercolor paper, then cut into panels, painted, and taped back together.

1. I started with a sheet of 8" x 10.5" sheet of watercolor paper. I used a ruler to measure and find the center point on all four sides, and then connected the points with a pencil to make four panels. A small number 1, 2, 3 and 4 was written in the top right corner to help match the panels later on.
2. Using a white crayon, I drew lots of snowflakes, taking care to have some large and some small, and some overlapping the panels. I like to make a large “X” and then add a horizontal line to form a six-sided frame, and then added circles and arrows to decorate. Pressure is needed to make sure that thick, white lines are drawn with the crayon.
3. I used scissors to carefully cut the four panels apart. My Crayola Watercolor Mixing Set® was my paint choice again. I used a different color on each panel and let dry.
4. I lined up the four panels to match their original layout, and taped from behind. Mounting on a white 8.5" x 11" paper would look nice too.

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Winter Birch Trees

My school is doing a holiday fundraiser this fall, and I think I may use this project as it makes a nice winter scene. It also is a good example of how the contrast of white on dark can really have a lot of visual impact.
1. Starting with a 9" square of watercolor paper, I taped a border around the edge with 1" painter’s masking tape. Then I cut thick and thin strips for trees that touched the top and the bottom of the border. It's important that these strips are cut with wavy edges, and not just full strips of tape. Branches may be added, along with a moon. All the edges need to be smoothed and pressed down.
2. I used Prussian Blue watercolor that was watered down and spread the paint over the entire picture. I wanted to add some texture, so I sprinkled salt on the wet paint as soon as it went on the paper. Let dry thoroughly.
3. Rub the salt off the picture and peel off the tape (careful not to tear the paper). I used acrylic with paint and a small brush to paint little snowflake dots. If any of the paint leaked into the trees, your can use this paint to cover up those spots.
4. With very watery blue paint, add the little bark stripes on the left and right of the trees and branches.
5. Again with very watery blue paint, add a thin shadow stripe on the same side of all the trees and branches.

CA Visual Art Standard: Grade Four
2.7 Use contrast (light and dark) expressively in an original work of art.

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Ceramic Snowman

Sometimes the simplest of projects can turn out to be anything but. My students loved making these snowman, but they did turn out to be a challenge in making clay pieces connect to each other. Whether it was a nose or hat or head, we all learned a lot about what it takes to keep clay shapes from falling apart.

1. The students got a handful of clay, warmed and softened it up with water and formed the small, medium and large balls of their snowman. To connect the shapes, they needed to score (scratch with a fork) the sides of the balls that would touch each other. After securely pressing the scored edges to each other, they could add decorations as desired: carrot noses, buttons, hats, etc. What turned out to be key in making connections was having very soft and damp clay, very defined scratches, and literally “screwing” the shapes into each other. Clay shrinks as it dries so smooth edges just seem to pop apart. Pipe cleaners were stuck into the sides for temporary arms.
2. After drying for several days in the sun, the pipe cleaner arms were removed and the clay was fired in a kiln.
3. The pipe cleaners were placed back in the arm holes, and the students painted the snowman with glaze.
4. The pipe cleaners were removed, and the snowmen were fired for the last time. When cooled, small twigs were placed in the arm holes.

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Pastel Penguin

Penguins are a very popular subject matter. Looking at some large photos before beginning will give students a chance to see colors and detail they may not have noticed before.

1. I first gave the students oval cardboard templates about 5" tall by 3" wide to trace the body on colored construction paper. They then drew the head, wings and feet. Circle eyes and a triangle beak completed the face. A horizon line was added to the background along with sky details.
2. The students then outlined their drawings with a thin black marker and colored in the shapes with oil pastel. Because this image has so much white, it's fun to do on almost any colored paper so that the white can be colored in.

CA Visual Art Standard: Creative Expression, Grade Kindergarten
2.6 Use geometric shapes/forms (circle, triangle, square) in a work of art.

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Crayon Resist Snowflakes

If you go to the holiday decoration section at Michael’s, you can find these amazing laser-cut wood snowflake decorations that are cheap (about three for $1) and perfect for making crayon rubbings. These are the same snowflakes I used for the Plaster Paperweight project.

1. I made this picture with a white crayon, but younger students could use bright colors they could see more easily. I placed the snowflake under my paper, and rubbed over it with the side of a large crayon, going back and forth in many directions.
2. Liquid watercolor was painted over all the picture, and dabbed with a paper towel to soak up the paint on the crayon.

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How to Draw a Winter Tree

Winter brings bare trees, and the to chance study and draw them without any worries about leaves. I’ve posted my favorite method of drawing "Y Trees” before (click here) but this time it’s with a winter theme.
1. I drew a large “Y” just using a black oil pastel. Then I added more “Y”s on the branches until it was filled.
2. I made the trunk and middle branches thicker, ending with just points at the tips of all the branches.
3. I drew a horizon line with a blue pastel, and filled in the sky as solid as I could. The darker, the better.
4. After mixing up some watery white tempera paint, I used a brush to shake drops all over my picture. No flinging, just shaking up and down. Let dry flat before you pick up your masterpiece.

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Snowman on Skis

I sometimes look at stock illustrations on websites like gettyone.com for inspiration. I found a simple drawing of a snowman on skis that I really liked, and remade with my glue and pastel technique.

1. Drawing lightly on black paper, make three overlapping circles, each getting a bit smaller as they go up.
2. Draw simple stick arms, a face and buttons.
3. Add stick ski poles attached to the hands, and a hat that sits on top of the head. Stripes are nice as they allow for extra color.
4. Draw two skis below the bottom circle, and then a curved horizon line. Trace all lines with a thin line of white glue and let dry for 6 hours or so.
5. When dry, color in all the areas with pastel. I used Art Stix for this picture, which are a kind of new-fangled stick that don't have all the chalky-ness of the chalk pastels. They aren't cheap, but they are clean and sturdy and seem to last forever.

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Close Crop Snowman

Drawing closeup and cropping out what is unnecessary can make just about any artwork more interesting. The tendency is for students to draw small with lots of extra space. If you are trying for dynamic images for special uses like greeting cards, this approach will make a big difference.

1. I started with a 9" x 12" sheet of black paper, and traced a ruler width in pencil around the outside to give the artwork a frame.
2. I used an old CD to trace the bottom circle, purposely placing it so that it would go off the page on one side. The smaller head circle came from centering a smaller cup above the CD circle. I drew in the face, hat, scarf, arms and buttons. A horizon line was added in the background.
3. I took a black pastel, and traced the all the pencil lines, pressing hard so that the line was easily visible. All the shapes were filled in with pastels, and lastly I added some snow on top of the sky.

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Abstract Winter Trees

A simple illustration I came across in a website inspired this project.

1. Give the students 2 different sizes of narrow triangle cardboard templates, and ask them to draw 3 triangles (trees) across the middle of a sheet of paper.
2. Instruct the students to draw a curvy ground line, and then connect the ground with the trees in a straight line to make the trunks. "V" shapes may be added in the trees to look like branches.
3. Show the students how to divide the background into 3 sections.
4. Ask the students to trace all their pencil lines with a crayon.
5. Give the students watercoler to paint in all the shapes they have created.
6. Use a hole punch to create lots of small white circles. With dots of white glue, add the white circles to the painted pictures.
CA Visual Art Standard: Creative Expression, Grade Five
2.4 Create an expressive abstract composition based on real objects.

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Winter Cardinal

I’ve been looking for a nice colorful winter image for a holiday fundraiser, and was inspired by an image I found in a stock photo site.
1. I made cardboard wing templates for students to trace to keep the scale of the bird from starting out too small. The rest of the drawing was done with step-by-step instructions on the board. I described the wing as needing to be tilted a bit, a “shark fin” was added on top, and a belly below. The black face looks a bit like half of a butterfly, and the beak extends directly to the right of it. A tail is added below, along with feet. The branch is behind the feet so it’s lines jump over the feet and tail.
2. After the drawing is done, it needs to be traced with a thin black marker.
3. Lastly, all except the snow is colored in with oil pastels.

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