Contour Line Self-Portraits

Students in middle school began the semester with some drawing activities. One of my favorite lessons is blind contour drawing. It teaches the artist to become more observant and focused while quickly improving their drawing skills. We spent a day doing blind contour drawings of hands before using mirrors and drawing our faces. Once these were finished, students traced them to the back of the paper to complete multiple transfers in any way or style they wanted. These were then traced with sharpie and colored in using a split complementary color scheme. These turned out great and the artist's personality definitely shines through in each one!

Mexican Amate Designs

Students created these designs in the style of authentic Mexican Amate paintings. We began by sketching out ideas using patterns and animal symbols from traditional Mexican designs. Once the sketch was finished, students stained a paper brown and it was crumbled to mimic the texture of Amate paper. Students then added the designs and animals while adding color and fluorescent paints. Students learned about the culture of Mexico while exploring the use of line, color and patterns in artwork.

Texture Lions

Students in grades PreK and Kinder created these texture lions last spring. We began by drawing out the lions face using simple shapes in pencil. Once it was complete, students drew over the pencil lines with a black or brown crayon to make the features stand out. During the next class, students were given orange, yellow and brown paints and asked to create a line pattern around the lions head to create a pattern. This teaches pattern but can also incorporate movement depending on the type of line the student paints. The final step was adding texture with yarn. We drew lines of glue over the painted pattern and placed strips of yarn on them to add the texture. This was a fun project for practicing some fine motor skills and learning art concepts like line, pattern and texture.