Van Gogh's Mulberry Tree ASAP

Lesson Plan for 6-8 Grade

DISCUSSION:  Van Gogh's Mulberry Tree

Texture, movement, balance, 

        color and value

        perspective, 

Why does it work?

What do we think of

Why does it feel like we are there?

ARTIST: VAN GOGH

Vincent  van Gogh (30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890)

Dutch Post-Impressionist painter 

His work had a far-reaching influence on 20th century art

Known for his  vivid colors and emotional impact. 

Van Gogh did not begin painting until his late twenties

most of his best-known works were produced during his final two years. 

He produced more than 2,000 artworks, consisting of around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches. 

His work was a strong influence on the Modernist art that followed. 

Today many of his pieces—including his numerous self portraits, landscapes, portraits and sunflowers—are among the world's most recognizable and expensive works of art.

Known for his paint application creating texture and movement.

He suffered from anxiety and increasingly frequent bouts of mental illness throughout his life,

died largely unknown, at the age of 37

sold only one painting while he was alive

for additional information, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh

PROJECT: 

Each student is given 1/6 of the mulberry tree painting to recreate on their canvas. 

There are no parameters they may interpret it anyway they like. 

MATERIALS:

Canvas

Acrylic paints

Paint brushes

water


ADDITIONAL Student picture from a similar project students did with Picasso:

Repetition Cupcakes with Wayne Thiebuad (ASAP)

Preschool Lesson plan:


Discussion: Repetition and Pattern

What does it mean to repeat something?

   To do it over and over

What is a pattern? Ababababa

Something that repeats

Letters, numbers, pictures

Where do we see pattern everyday?

Wallpaper

Clothing

Read a book about pattern

ARTIST: Wayne Thiebaud 

(born November 15, 1920) 

He is an American painter 

whose most famous works are of cakes, pastries, boots, toilets, toys and lipsticks. 

He is associated with the Pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture,

 although his works, executed during the fifties and sixties, slightly predate the works of the classic pop artists. 

Thiebaud uses heavy pigment and exaggerated colors to depict his subjects

well-defined shadows characteristic of advertisements are almost always included in his work.
for additional information, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Thiebaud

Project:  create a pattern by painting cupcakes

Step 1: Draw a square

Step2: draw a half circle on top of the square

Step3: Paint the square

Step4: paint the dome

Step5: paint the background

Step6: add details: sprinkles, candles, etc…

MATERIALS: canvas

Brushes

Acrylic paints in bright colors

ASAP: Chuck Close Pattern Hand

DISCUSSION: All Student Art Project (ASAP)

what is it?

How does it work

All Student means that every student that takes art class has participated in some way in the final product. Often times in art class the final project is used to generate funding for art supplies, etc.

Other Discussion topics: Pattern, printmaking, warm and cool colors

ARTIST: Chuck Close

Born July 5, 1940, American Artist

He is a painter, photographer, and printmaker. 

Close is a builder who, in his words, builds "painting experiences for the viewer." 

Close is also a master printmaker, who has, over the course of more than 30 years, pushed the boundaries of traditional printmaking in remarkable ways.

Almost all of Close’s work is based on the use of a grid as an underlying basis for the representation of an image. 

This simple but surprisingly versatile structure provides the means for "a creative process that could be interrupted repeatedly without…damaging the final product, in which the segmented structure was never intended to be disguised." 

It is important to note that none of Close's images are created digitally or photo-mechanically. 

All his work is made the old-fashioned way—by hand.

While a painting can occupy Close for many months, it is not unusual for one print to take upward of two years to complete. 

Close has complete respect for, and trust in, the technical processes—and the collaboration with master printers—essential to the creation of his prints. 

The creative process is as important to Close as the finished product. "Process and collaboration" are two words that are essential to any conversation about Close’s prints.
For additional information visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Close

PREPARATION: 
Step 1: Pick a hand drawing of one of the students and blow it up on a canvas

Step 2: Draw a grid over the whole canvas numbering the same # of students

PROJECT: 

Step 1: Students should pick their grid piece.

Step 2:Have Chuck Close’s work on hand for students to look at when deciding how to fill in their grid. 

Step 3: First, Draw in the pattern with pencil

Step 4: when the student is ready to paint: Warm Colors should make up the inside of the hand and cool colors should make up the background. 

MATERIALS: 

Canvas

Acrylic paint

This project was completed with students from K-8th grade. I did encourage the little ones to pick grid pieces that were either warm or cool and not both. I saved those for the oldest students to complete.  We sold this piece during our annual art show. It was done as a silent auction. 

2011 example of a chuck close Cheetah done by the students at LDV for the Cheetah Wildlife foundation

this is the same piece in progress