Primary Color Parrot Painting Lesson

Parrots are an art room staple..for lessons, I mean. They are easy to draw and even more fun to paint. I love this lesson because, no matter what the child's perceived artistic ability, most will be totally surprised with how well they did.

1. For this lesson, which took three-45 minute class times, we started with learning how to draw a basic parrot. I use the "shape" strategy. Draw a circle for the eye, draw an arrow for the beak, etc. Most kids find it easy to draw when a confusing and seemingly difficult image is broken down into basic shapes.
2. After the kids draw a parrot on scrap paper, I give them a large sheet of white 12 x 18 sulphite paper. They are free to draw whatever bird they like. I plaster the white board with pictures of tropical birds and give them black and white drawings of birds, used as a drawing aid, for their table.
3. I encourage the kids to use a black marker for drawing. Pencil and erasures take up too much class time. Most kids will spend the entire class period erasing their lines.
   
4. By the second class, each kid will have a completed bird drawing. At this point, I give them a tray with the primary paint colors on it. We go over how to mix the colors to make the secondary colors and then the kids are free to paint their tropical birds.

By the last class, some kids need to finish their painting but all others can add a black marker detail to their painting. Outlining the leaves, feathers and other details really make the painting come alive!

Introducing: Single Subject Lesson Plans!

I thought it might be helpful to introduce a new format of lesson plans directly related to specific art lesson posts. I figured that if a teacher wanted to print out a post, it would be hard to do so. Too much cutting and pasting! So, I've taken a few of my most popular lessons and reformatted them to include handouts that you can reproduce and give to the students as well as a printer friendly version of the lesson plan. For those of you who have purchased my Art Booklets, these are similar in format, just smaller and more focused.

My first is "Royal Pooches"!
This adorable art lesson comes with three "how-to-draw" handouts for a Bulldog, a Basset Hound and a Cocker Spaniel.
The nine-page mini-booklet also includes a supply list, photo tutorial and student samples. The PDF is designed to be printed out so you can bring it to your classroom. This lesson is perfect for grades K-3.

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Royal Pooches:Part II Grade Three

Sometimes I like to experiment. Test out an art project at different grade levels. This lesson worked equally well with both age groups, so as a result, it's now included as one of my all time favorite art projects. For the full tutorial, Click here.
Here are the samples from third grade.

To purchase a PDF of this lesson including original handouts and drawing aids, click on the button below...ONLY $3

IMPORTANT DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS
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Royal Pooches: Dog Drawing and Painting Lesson for kids

This lesson originated from the April 2007 article in Arts and Activities magazine, titled Kingly Kanines by Laura Lasker, an art teacher at Bethlehem Elementary in Connecticut. I tore out the page, stuffed it in my "art idea" file. I pulled it out after seeing a fantastic dog pillow in an O magazine article. The pillow (from Pillow Pillow Pillow) featured graphic dogs stenciled on pillows. Between the two ideas, I knew I had an appealing art lesson.


Supplies:
12" x 18" white drawing paper
Black or brown oil pastel or crayon
palette of "dog" colored paint (black, white, tawny, brown, golden yellow and white)
Palette of background colors (blue, greens, reds, metallic paint for crown)


I needed a lesson to carry my Kinders through the last two weeks of art class and although the Kingly Kanine lesson was designed for third grade kids, I was sure I could simplify my ideas to accommodate the skills of five and six year olds.
The first step is the drawing:
For the little ones who are ALL enamored with dogs, it was very easy to capture their attention. I selected three dogs that had characteristics that would assist in producing an identifiable dog: French Bulldog, Basset Hound and Cocker Spaniel. (The pillow picture was a huge help here!)
On the white board, I showed the kids how to draw the dogs, starting with the crown, then drawing the shape of the face, adding ears, then body, and finally the face. My strategy is to draw the dog first so the kids know what to expect, then erase the drawing and start over as a directed line drawing.
For my Kinders, I did three direct line drawing instructions simultaneously. If the child wished to draw the bull dog, they'd follow my bull dog drawing, same for the hound. You get the idea.
It's not as hard as it sounds. Draw three "boxes" on the white board, starting with a crown in each box (show three different crowns), then move to the shape of the face, etc.

Painting the dogs:
After the drawing is complete, bring out the paints. I used regular tempera paints but pre-mixed the paints using "dog" colors before pouring them into the muffin palettes. Make sure to add two browns, black, grey, golden yellow, white and pure black.
I demonstrate how to paint the dog using short smooth brush strokes and then, when the undercoat is dry, adding squiggles and short lines with a darker paint for the "hair". Encourage the kids to leave some areas white, add patches, etc. This will give each dog a unique look.

The next class involves painting the crown and background:
Once the dog is painted, the children can paint the crown and the background. I set out a palette of bright colors plus one metallic paint. If you don't have metallic tempera paint, use a metallic oil pastel or perhaps add some rhinestones after the paint is dry. Anything to add contrast.
To make the painting dramatic, keep the background color simple. Perhaps one color plus a color for a mat or pillow. Of course, this is way too hard for the color lovers in the class, so if the kids want more background colors, let them.

The final step is the most important one for creating a dynamic painting and ensuring that the dog remains the star of the painting....Black lines.
With a small paint brush and a container of watered-down black tempera paint, instruct the kids to go over every line they made with their crayon or oil pastel. This is hard so help out by pointing out places the kids missed: ears, nose, eyes, mouth, pillow, etc.
This is a hard technique but I love it. The pictures below show how dynamic the dogs look with their creators signature brush styles!



The dashing dogs featured are from Mrs. Paloczi and Mrs. LaPlante's Kinder classes at Brandon School.

To purchase a PDF of this lesson, including original handouts and drawing aids, click on then button below...ONLY $3

Third Grade Expressive Paintings

Fred Babb is one of my favorite artists. His art is expressive, meaningful and above all, unique. It's a perfect description of what children's art should be. Fred's website features a book with pull out pages. It makes a fantastic accompaniment to this lesson. I urge you to purchase it. Not only is it great for the children, but the messages in the art will inspire every art teacher.
After talking about his art and message, I showed the kids how to make a simple face using a black crayon. I urged them to keep it very simple as the paints are the stars of this lesson.


Using a colorful palette of paint, the kids used the double loading technique (dip paintbrush in one color, then dip in another and paint both onto the paper) to paint their images. It's a good idea to leave a little room at the bottom for any message the kids might like to add later.
I encouraged the children to paint as they pleased. No instructions or rules. If they didn't like what they created, they painted right over it. They loved this freedom and I loved watching them.Finally, using a small brush dipped in black tempera paint (water down slightly), the kids added words and highlights to their painting.
The lesson only took 50 minutes but half the kids didn't have time for detailing. I'd recommend letting the painting dry and then return to it later to add words, details with a smaller brush.

Terrific Toucans: Drawing and Painting Toucans for Fourth Grade

Aren't these fantastic? I absolutely love how each toucan has it's own personality. This is the yardstick I use to measure how successful a project is. If the artwork is unique to the artist, then I'm happy.

To begin, I show my students a few images of toucans and talk about the beak. I demonstrate a few drawing techniques and then, using a black oil pastel, the kids draw their own toucan. I suggest they begin with the eye and then draw the beak. If the beak is large enough, then it almost doesn't matter what the body looks like; everyone will know it's a toucan!
I really think not using pencils in this project is beneficial. Using an oil pastel loosens the kids up, encourages them to draw large and if they make a mistake, I tell them that the tempera paints will cover it.
After the drawing is done, the picture should look like a coloring book page; black and white and ready to color.
We use tempera paints and once the painting is dry, the kids go over all the oil pastel lines with a small brush dipped in black paint.








This artwork is created by the artists in Mrs. Kornahren's 4th grade class at Brandon School