….this will be the last group of Picasso Dogs that I post
Carla Sonheim has inspired me to teach my students about Picasso. Each grade level was approached slightly differently to meet the curriculum expectations for that grade. This gallery of Picasso Dogs was done by my grade three class and the emphasis was on cool and warm colours.
….same process as the grade 1s but we learned how to mix primary colours to make secondary colours
Thanks to Carla Sonheim’s free kids on-line classes for this terrific lesson.
Click on each image to get the entire picture.
….thanks to Carla Sonheim’s free on-line kid’s art lessons for this idea
For my very first art lesson this year I introduced my grade one, two and three classes to Pablo Picasso. We looked at his traditional vs abstract paintings and explored some of his unusual portraits. Carla’s unique approach to drawing an abstract dog made the assignment fun and less intimidating than drawing a traditional human face.
After we practised drawing some dog features (snouts, eyes, ears, tails, paws) I gave each child a piece of watercolour paper and instructed them to draw an eye, turn the paper and draw a larger eye and continued like this until there were six or seven features on the paper. Then they had to turn the paper and find the layout they liked best and start joining the features to create a dog. They could change things around and add more features as they went along. This took up pretty much all the time we had in our first class. I collected the papers and stored them away for a week.
The following week we discussed what the primary colours are and I demonstrated how to hold a brush and apply paint to the paper. I returned their work from the week before and handed out the paints. For many in grade one it was a challenge to stay in the lines but for the most part they managed to keep the colours from blending into one another. We used tempera paint so it took a while to dry. I asked the homeroom teacher to give the students time to go over the pencil lines with a black Sharpie so that their dogs would reappear.
I loved their finished works of art. I’ve selected a few to share with you.
…..thanks to Carla Sonheim and her free Kid’s Art Week
I’m always looking for new and fun ways to teach art to my students. Next year I’ll be teaching grades 1,2, and 3. I like to combine a little art history with the elements of design when I introduce a lesson. Carla’s Picasso Dogs is perfect. The kids will learn a little bit about Picasso, cubism and primary and secondary colours.
Students will be given a small piece of watercolour paper and a pencil or black oil pastel. They will be instructed to draw individual items that pertain to a dog or any animal that they choose. After drawing the first body part they will turn their papers 90 degrees and then draw the second part. They will do this six or seven times and then they will connect all the parts to create their Picasso animal or alien.
Once the parts are all connected the students will be given further instructions to draw lines across the animal to divide it into smaller sections (this is the cubism part). The first animal will use only primary colours. Once that piece is finished they may create a second animal and I will teach them how to mix the primary colours to create secondary colours. This animal will only be painted with secondary colours. The final step is to go over all the pencil lines with a black marker.
For students who work quickly they may draw a third animal and use a combination of primary and secondary colours. Here are my samples:
Mama Cormier 