Van Gogh Watercolor Perspective

Submitted by: Meghan Yarnell, Art teacher at Perrysburg Junior High
Title of Lesson: Van Gogh Watercolor Fields
Grade level: 5th-7th grade

Goals / Objectives:

1.) Students will learn about space techniques through a demonstration and daily participation.
2.) Students will learn about watercolor techniques through demonstration and hands-on creation.
3.) Students will learn about one-point perspective through demonstration and hands-on creation.

Materials Needed:

Watercolor Paper
, Watercolor Paint, Drawing Pencils, Rulers, photos of things in fields, Crayons, rubbing alcohol, Plastic Wrap, Bubble Wrap, and handout.

Assessment(s):

See rubric

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Lesson Description:

Day one:

Pass out the "Things in a Field" hand-out. Review what you would find in a field. Students will complete sketches of fields using one-point perspective and space techniques (Size, detail, overlapping and placement).

Day two:

Go over the rubric with the students. Students will have their sketches approved by the teacher. They will get a sheet of watercolor paper and draw their sketch lightly on the paper.

Day three:

Students will trace over every pencil line with crayons, pressing hard.

Day four:

Demonstrate watercolor techniques (white crayon, salt, bubble wrap, plastic wrap and rubbing alcohol) to students. Tell them that watercolor should be transparent, not thick. Students will paint their landscapes with the watercolor paints.

Day five:

Students will continue painting their landscapes. If they finish early, they can work on participation.

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Books

The Art of Perspective: The Ultimate Guide for Artists in Every Medium - Many artists are intimidated by perspective. However, creating an illusion of depth in your work is actually far easier than colour or design when explained correctly. With this book, readers will learn how to create perspective on a flat surface using a variety of mediums. Starting simple, the book covers the theory behind perspective and gradually introduces more and more challenging subjects. Before long, readers will be taking on such complex scenes as stairways, curves, and non-rectangular objects.

Perspective Without Pain - This book was written with the express purpose of instructing the artist about the concepts of perspective. One of the toughest things to learn is how to draw to make things appear to have perspective and this book takes you through a step by step process geared toward all levels of drawing. The beginner is comfortable right away with this daunting subject and the advanced student hones his skills through the study of the later chapters. It is a must for the beginner and the advanced artist alike.