COLOR AND MOOD Refer to the following website for a chart of “what colors mean” www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769383.html Purpose: Through looking at the work of artist Claude Monet, students will

learn that the color of a painting can dramatically change the feel or mood of that painting. Students will have the opportunity to create two like images and change their feel by changing to a different color scheme from one to the next.

Vocabulary: Color scheme, Claude Monet, warm colors, cool colors, duplicate Materials: One large sheet of white paper (16 x 12), pencils, coloring materials

(oil pastels) Methods: *Show examples of Claude Monet’s work. Look specifically at

works that depict the same scene but with different colors (Cathedral paintings, beach scenes, etc.). Talk with the students about the different moods or feelings they gather from the different colored scenes. How does the darker one feel? What time of day does this painting look like? What does the warm painting remind you of…as opposed to the cooler one?

*Hand out paper and have the students fold it in half. They will then choose a landscape to draw.

*Students will draw, in pencil, the same image on one half and then on the other. Before they begin coloring, they should have two like images in pencil only, side by side.

*The students should have a definite color scheme for one drawing and another color scheme for the other. Some color schemes used are the following: light/dark, bright/dull, warm/cool (think up some more).

*Focus on saturation of color, covering all white spaces.

*Once works are done, have the students present them to the class, and have the class discuss how one is different from the next. Is the first drawing meant to be cold and windy, while the second is on a warm and sunny day?

Warm Cool

COLOR COLLAGES: TINTS & SHADES Purpose: Students will learn to identify a hue, and then identify that hue’s

tints and shades. Students will use this knowledge to create a color collage of the color (hue) of their choice. The object is to find as many tints and shades as possible, while finding a variety of visual textures to include in their final piece.

Vocabulary: Hue, tint, shade, collage, visual texture Materials: Old magazines (for collage cuttings), painting scraps in various

colors, scissors, glue sticks, colored tissue paper, 8 ½ x 11 - inch paper, clear liquid glaze (Mod Podge), paint brushes

Methods: *Discuss the definition of hue (color), tint (color with white) and

shade (color mixed with black). In a photograph or painting reproduction, choose a color and have the students point out tints and shades of that color.

*Give a definition of collage and describe the process of cutting and

pasting. Show a completed collage project to give them a visual key.

*Students will choose their own color and spend one day cutting out

a variety of tints and shades of that hue. Remind them to cut out a variety of visual textures so that their final piece is full of varied objects and surfaces.

*As they cut, have the students glue these collage pieces to their paper.

Students will continue to cut as they work, filling their entire page with the color they chose. Make sure that the students don’t leave any white spaces between their colored pieces (layering!).

*Once all items are glued down, students should trim off excess

pieces that move beyond the paper edge and then begin to glaze their collage. I use a product called Mod Podge because it can easily be painted on and it serves as a nice finishing product, gluing loose pieces together. At this stage, give students the option to add pieces of tissue paper (staying true to chosen hue) for a translucent appearance.

*Once dry, these collages have a beautiful luminous quality! The

different layers of color and visual texture work together to create a beautiful final piece.

*Display together as a “colored quilt.”

MONET’S GARDEN Purpose: Students will learn about the Impressionist artist Claude Monet

through studying his work (specifically that made in his Giverny garden).

Vocabulary: Claude Monet, Impressionism (feeling vs. seeing), color mixing Materials: Brightly colored construction paper, oil pastels, books and

examples of Monet’s work, and the movie “Linnea in Monet’s Garden”

Methods: *Show the movie first, as this gives the students an introduction to

Monet’s life and shows a variety of examples of his work. There is also a book version of this movie that works well. After the movie, talk about Monet’s work, e.g. feeling vs. seeing, and show more examples of his work.

*Hand out colored construction paper and have the students draw

outlines of their own garden drawings. Color in, focusing on making sure that all the areas are filled in. Remind students to use lots of color to make an “impression” of the garden.

*Completed works should have total color saturation, mixed colors,

and a design that fills in the entire page.