SPRING LANDSCAPE – Impressionism, Texture, Space

Students will be able to:

• identify characteristics of Impressionism;
• paint a spring landscape with a foreground, middle ground and background;
• use a variety of brushstrokes to create visual texture;
• demonstrate technical accomplishment and creativity; 
• support their ideas with evidence found in the works.

Have students:

• choose one of the Impressionists to study in more depth;
• work with peers to create a short video or dramatization based on something interesting they discovered about their artist;
• share and critique their videos or dramatizations in a student organized film/drama festival.

1. Prior to this lesson have students learn about seasons and signs of spring in Science class.
2. Download and display the Space and Texture posters available on this website,
3. Download images of Impressionist landscapes from the Internet, for example,
   Sisley
   Renoir
   Monet
   Monet2
   Pissarro
4. Gather, and make available, books about the Impressionists, for example, Monet and the Impressionists for Kids: Their Lives and Ideas, by Carol Sabbeth; Katie Meets the Impressionists, by James Mayhew; Linnea in Monet's Garden, by Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson; and Monet Paints a Day, by Julie Danneberg and Caitlin Heimerl.

1. Place students in groups of about 6.
2. Provide white paint and a variety of small brushes for each table.
3. Demonstrate how to:
   - hold the paintbrush in different ways as you paint a variety of marks in white paint on the black paper
   - apply different amounts of pressure
   - vary the space between marks
4. Allow students time to fill their paper with marks.
5. Demonstrate how to paint colour on top of the white paint,
   - follow the direction of the white brushstrokes
   - add a small amount of paint
6. Allow time for students to add colour to their practice paintings.
7. Introduce the Impressionists and view several paintings with the class.
8. Identify characteristics of the style, for example,
   - loose brushstrokes
   - small, visible brushstrokes
   - pure colours painted beside each other on the canvas
   - shows light and atmosphere
   - painted right outside 'en plein air'
9. Identify the foreground, middle ground and background in the paintings.
10. Discuss how the colour changes in each section of the paintings, for example in the Sisley landscape,
    - he has used almost pure colour in the foreground so the colours are bright and strong
    - he has added white and a small amount of blue or violet to the colours in the middle ground so they are duller and lighter
    - he has added a lot more white and blue or violet to the background colours so they are the lightest and dullest
11. Ask students to see how their practice paintings look similar to some aspect of the Impressionist paintings they are viewing.
12. Introduce the challenge

Display the paintings as a ‘body of work’.

1. Ask students to gather in front of the display and look at the works thoughtfully.
2. Ask them to find 3 things they find interesting about any of them.
3. During the discussion include references to:
   - composition - placement of foreground, middle ground and background
   - details - things that show it is spring
   - textures – that have been created using different brushstrokes
   - contrast – how it has been used to balance the composition and get the eye to travel through the whole space
   - feelings the works evoke
   - challenges they may have had and how they solved them
4. Ask them to tell how they felt about doing this project.

1. Observe students as they work – thoughtful focus, discriminating, seeking more information, elaborating, experimenting.
2. Observe students as they discuss the paintings – active listening, insightful contributions, supporting ideas with evidence found in the artwork and from personal experience.
3. Use a checklist to track progress. (Download - SpringLandscape_tracking.pdf)
4. Have students use the self-assessment form to evaluate their work. (Download - SpringLandscape_self-assessment.pdf, or SpringLandscapePrimary_self-assessment.pdf)