Painting with Dots Kirkland Style

Submitted by: Jean Hiza
Art teacher at St. Vrain Valley School District, Longmont, Colorado
Grade level: Middle & High school and adapted for Elementary

Goals / Objectives:

• To study Vance Kirkland’s style of painting

• To compare and contrast Aboriginal styles to Kirkland’s style

• To study pointillism and other painting with dots in art history

Materials Needed:

• Heavy-Weight Drawing Paper or Paper Canvas

• Acrylic Paint in small containers

• Dowel Rods - cut into 3 inch lengths

• Bamboo Skewers (or use Q-tips)

• Sandpaper

• Large cardboard box

Click on the images for full size

Lesson Description:

1. Discuss and view Aborigine and pointillism art. Collect – painting with dots - from Google images for more examples. Discuss the art of painting with dots.

2. View PowerPoint of Vance Kirkland’s style of paintings. Discuss color schemes, form and movement.

3. Have student paint background on heavy paper or Paper Canvas. May be solid or patterned.

4. While paint is drying- have students sand their tools. I score bamboo skewers (sold in kitchen ware departments) with scissors- then snap them apart. Students need to sand the ends. I also get various diameters of wooden dowels – cut to 3 inch (2.5 cm) lengths- and have them sand them. If you use Q Tips- cut off the cotton. (Keep reusing the Q Tip- as the extra paint "build up" on the end adds dimension to the dotting)

5. Take a large card board box and place painted paper inside. Mix paint to heavy cream consistency and with a water color brush (it holds more paint) splatter paint on background. Carefully remove.

6. Mix colors and put into little containers. Start dotting creating form and lines. The painting is made up of little dots with large dots only for accents.

7. Dots must be tight and close together to create form and lines.

8. Color scheme and values add expressive lines and emphasis.

Resources:

Books

Vance Kirkland 1904 - 1981 - Vance Kirkland was a fine, mysterious American painter whose unique abstract methods were not discovered and appreciated until after he died. He is famous for is masterful realist and surrealist watercolor, gouache and Casein Colors paintings.

Georges Seurat, 1859-1891: The Master of Pointillism - As a student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Seurat read Chevreul's 1839 book on the theory of colour and this, along with his own analysis of Delacroix' paintings, led him to formulate the concept of Divisionism. This was a method of painting around colour contrasts in which shade and tone are built up through dots of paint (pointillism) that emphasize the complex inter-relation of light and shadow.

Video

Vance Kirkland's Visual Language [VHS] - A documentary on the life and work of Colorado's distinguished painter, Vance Kirkland. Shot on location in Kirkland's Denver studio and in several museums, the documentary includes video and audio interviews and archival photos of Kirkland, and dramatic recreation of some of his unorthodox painting techniques.

Links

Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art- A major survey of Colorado art history is documented, with over 170 artists represented by more than 700 works.

Vance Kirkland Online- Artsyclopedia's page on his life and works.

NASA Art, 50 Years of Exploration - Includes an article on Vance Kirkland: The Mysteries of Space and his art.

Vance Kirkland - This great PDF that has the biography and works of Vance Kirkland by Mesa County Valley SD 51.

Vance Kirkland- An online slide show on the Vance Kirkland Tribute Exhibit.

IAD's Pointilator- Create an online painting in the pointillism style.

Assessment(s):

See rubric (Also below)

Creating a Painting : Vance Kirkland's style of dotting Rubric

National Visual Arts Standards Covered (From ArtsEdge):

Content Standard: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
Achievement Standard

Proficient:
* Students differentiate among a variety of historical and cultural contexts in terms of characteristics and purposes of works of art
* Students describe the function and explore the meaning of specific art objects within varied cultures, times, and places
* Students analyze relationships of works of art to one another in terms of history, aesthetics, and culture, justifying conclusions made in the analysis and using such conclusions to inform their own art making

Advanced:
* Students analyze and interpret artworks for relationships among form, context, purposes, and critical models, showing understanding of the work of critics, historians, aestheticians, and artists
* Students analyze common characteristics of visual arts evident across time and among cultural/ethnic groups to formulate analyses, evaluations, and interpretations of meaning

Content Standard: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
Achievement Standard

Proficient:
* Students apply media, techniques, and processes with sufficient skill, confidence, and sensitivity that their intentions are carried out in their artworks
* Students conceive and create works of visual art that demonstrate an understanding of how the communication of their ideas relates to the media, techniques, and processes they use

Advanced:
* Students communicate ideas regularly at a high level of effectiveness in at least one visual arts medium
* Students initiate, define, and solve challenging visual arts problems independently using intellectual skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation