1st Grade Colorscapes

1st graders have been learning about warm and cool colors these last few weeks in art class. We looked at some famous pieces of artwork, plucked out colors within them, and filed these colors into categories.  I had all of the 1st graders close their eyes and pretend to be walking on the beach. What colors do you see when you scan the rolling waves out in the deep ocean?  Blues, aqua, turquoise, hints of green, even some purple. Now dip your big toe into the water…how does it feel? Cool. Tilt your face up and greet the rising sun. What are the colors that God uses to paint the sky? Yellows, reds, pinks, purples, and orange. How does the sunrise make you feel? Warm. We also spent some time discussing what landscapes are and what abstract art looks like. I can say with confidence that all the 1st graders know that landscapes are a pictures of land and that abstract art is a combination of crazy colors and shapes.  It was fun to watch their understanding deepen as they created their own abstract landscapes, incorporating warm and cool colors.  Children  began sketching out their landscapes and outlining their pencil lines with white chalk. We drew basic rolling hills in the foreground and a swirly sky in the background.As soon as our drawings were outlined and complete, I took a few minutes to demonstrate some chalk pastel tricks to my 1st graders. I showed 1st graders how to add white to a color to brighten it up, outline an area in black to create contrast, and how to blend colors with your finger.  1B colored their hills with cool colors and their skies with warm colors. I had 1A do the reverse: (warm hills, cool skies.)  Yeah…chalk is pretty messy. I just love how bright and easy to blend it is. 🙂

Funniest moment from this project:  When one child  finished his artwork, he held his picture at arm’s length, tilted his head, and then brought it close to his nose to examine it. 5 seconds later, he turned to the boy sitting next to him, gestured toward his own picture, and solemnly announced, “Nailed it.”Love how they turned out!-Mrs. Heinlein