Art Curriculum- Renaissance in Review

Weeks 1-4: Renaissance in Review

This week we had a bit of a break due to sickness and Columbus Day.

So instead of a new lesson, I decided to post a quick overview of the first 4 weeks projects and how they're all Renaissance Inspired.

Last week's lesson was a Fall project (and also began the Impressionist period). To view it click here. Last week before our Fall project was when I did a quick review with the kids to see what they remembered.

I looked up pictures of Renaissance art and other cool pictures I liked that showcased the techniques we were doing. Then I would have them try and remember which project fit best with each picture.

Most of the photos I used as reference or inspiration for my projects can be found on Pinterest Board: Art Curriculum.

• Week 1- Gridding: A project involving each child coloring in one piece of the bigger picture. I explained how you can transfer a photo's measurements and even make the image you're copying smaller or larger.

• Week 2- 1 Point Perspective: A painting project which introduces distance and a horizon line for the kids. The Renaissance period was when art was up for being expanded upon. Things like color and texture had more of an impact on the feeling of closeness or realism.

• Week 3- Tri Toned Cube: Painting a 3 toned cube to create a 3D feel. During the Renaissance shadows and light were paid more attention to. I showed them similar images of blocks and we reviewed the "light source." And I also showed showed how in normal portraits of people how the lighting was used to create depth in skin and hair.

• Week 4- Self Portrait: Coloring and drawing their own clothing and features on a stick figure. I pointed out that like the kids added gardens or castles people would pose for hours with objects they valued like a favorite pet or a treasured sword. I also made of point of reminding them back then they didn't have cameras. It would take months and a lot of money to have someone paint a realistic portrait of themselves or family members.

This is a very basic overview. But some of them are quite young, and for now this is a good start. As they grow older they will cover the Renaissance in greater detail.

I hope this was helpful and you enjoy the projects!

(logging 1/2 hour)

Art Curriculum- Week 2- 1 Point Perspective

Reference Picture

Week 2- 1 Point Perspective

Last week's lesson involved basic gridding. If you want to view it you can click here.

This week's lesson was 1 Point Perspective.

Artistic Movement: Renaissance

The project was good practice for watercolor painting with different methods and listening to instructions.

What you'll need:
-watercolors
-plain art paper of some kind (it doesn't have to be fancy but for water colors you want paper other than regular copy paper so that the watercolors have some texture to soak into)

Time: 40 minutes approx.

The original painting (pictured above) is something I found on Pinterest. I used it as a reference and quickly drew 7 rough copies of it using a sharpie.

I kept it basic, explained how when things are far away they get smaller and smaller whereas when things are closer they get bigger. I used a paint bottle on hand and I zoomed in back and forth in front of them.

This was another piece that I did step by step with the kids. I gave them one color at a time and we moved in stripes down the page. Blue-Orange-Yellow-Purple-etc.

For the red and orange ground I had them "messily" color within the lines with red leaving wide spaces. Then I gave them the orange and had them fill in all the white spots. I wanted there to be a bit of color mixing going on without creating mud.

The road we used black paint but I had them practice using lots of water with their brushes while taking tiny dabs of paint to achieve a lighter gray.

Overall: Easy and fun project. Simple cleanup (watercolors don't stain) and the kids love painting so it was a great learning experience.

In Addition: Something you might want to point out and explain is that cooler colors (blue, deep purple, etc) make things look farther away, while warmer colors (red, yellow, etc) make things appear closer. ;)

Related Posts:

Art Curriculum- Week 1- Gridding
Creating an Art Curriculum

(logging in 1 hour for prep and execution)