Watercolor Impressions of Winter
by
First and Second Graders!
Linda Ruel Flynn, Art Instructor Grades PreK-2

A Brief Description of the Project
Observation
Students began by looking out the art room window. They see piles of snow, pine trees with light streaming through pine needles, shadows on snow, and wind blowing swirls of ice. Group discussion yields the following observations: “snow is like a puddle of diamonds,” “piles of white frosting out our window,” and “pine needles shiver in the cold.”

First Paintings (Small Size)
Students then sketch with brushes (not pencils!!!) several winter landscape watercolor sketches of their observations. Their first paintings are small in size, measuring between 5”x7” and 8”x10” on 140lb cold press paper (thick!). They work with watercolors and watercolor brushes in sizes 6 & 8.

Technique Reference Board
Before students paint their large-size watercolors, I demonstrate several watercolor techniques involving plastic wrap, foil, paper towels, salt, oil crayons and fingertips. Students try out these techniques and note the paint’s reaction to each one. For example, salt placed on the paint in the sky gives a cloudy feeling; plastic wrap placed on the paint in the snow area gives an icy impression. Then they create a grid board, placing a sample technique in each grid square. They use the board for reference when creating their next series of paintings. (Please refer to Technique Reference Board image above for labeled examples.)

Large Size Paintings
Once students understand the different watercolor techniques, they begin work on larger-size (8”x10” to 5” x 18”) winter landscape watercolors employing these techniques in their work. They complete from 2 to 15 paintings.

This project culminates in students sharing their work and discussing their approaches to the project.

On to Adobe Photoshop
The project continues in the computer lab where students are introduced to Adobe Photoshop. They use the software to manipulate their winter watercolors into visions of spring.

Massachusetts Art Curriculum Framework-Learning Standards
Standard 1: Methods, Materials, and Techniques
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the methods, materials and techniques unique to the visual arts

Students will:
1.1 Use a variety of materials and media, for example, crayons, chalk, paint, clay, various kinds of papers, textiles, and yarns, and understand how to use them to produce different visual effects

1.2 Create artwork in a variety of two-dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) media, for example: 2D – drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, weaving; 3D – plastic (malleable) materials such as clay and paper, wood, or found objects for assemblage and construction

1.3 Learn and use appropriate vocabulary related to methods, materials, and techniques 1.4 Learn to take care of materials and tools and to use them safely

Standard 2: Elements and Principles of Design
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the elements and principles of design.

Students will:
2.1 For color, explore and experiment with the use of color in dry and wet media Identify primary and secondary colors and gradations of black, white and gray in the environment and artwork Explore how color can convey mood and emotion.

2.3 For texture, explore the use of textures in 2D and 3D works Identify a wide variety of types of textures, for example, smooth, rough, and bumpy, in the environment and in artwork Create representations of textures in drawings, paintings, rubbings, or relief

2.6 For space and composition, explore composition by creating artwork with a center of interest, repetition, and/or balance.

Standards 3: Observation, Abstraction, Invention, Expression
Students will:
3.1 Create 2D and 3D artwork from direct observation. For example, students draw a still life of flowers or fruit, action studies of their classmates in sports poses, or sketches of the class pet having a snack or a nap.

Standard 4: Drafting, Revising, and Exhibiting
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the processes of creating and exhibiting their own artwork: drafts, critique, self-assessment, refinement, and exhibit preparation.

Students will:
4.1 Select a work or works created during the year and discuss them with a parent, classmate, or teacher, explaining how the work was made, and why it was chosen for discussion. For example, a first grader chooses a painting and tells how she mixed the colors, and talks about the decisions she made.

4.2 Select works for exhibition and work as a group to create a display

Standard 5: Critical Response
Students will describe and analyze their own work and the work of others using appropriate visual arts vocabulary. When appropriate, students will connect their analysis to interpretation and evaluation.

Students will:
5.1 In the course of making and viewing art, learn ways of discussing it, such as by making a list of all of the images seen in an artwork (visual inventory); and identifying kinds of color, line, texture, shapes, and forms in the work

--Linda Ruel Flynn