Mixed-Up Chameleons

Timeframe: 2 x 50 minute sessions
Materials:
- Paper (A4 or A3)
- Lead Pencil
- Black Permanent Marker (or felt pen/sharpie)
- Oils pastels (or substitute with felt pens, crayons or coloured pencils)
- Ink - or diluted food dye or very diluted acrylic paint. (If you don’t have access to any of these, then substitute with felt pens, crayons or coloured pencils)

You Tube deomo Video HERE

Step 1:
Use the Drawing guide below to draw your chameleon with a lead pencil.

Step 2:
Outline your finished chameleon with a black permanent marker.

**Optional step**
Give your chameleon some quirky personality by adding some accessories!

Step 3:
Use oil pastels (or alternative) to colour your chameleon. Think about a colour scheme. It could be warm colours, cool colours, complimentary colours, rainbow colours etc. Use some browns and ‘earthy’ colours to colour your branch.

Step 4:
Add some simple patterns into your background.

Step 5:
Use inks (or an alternative) to colour your background.

Alternative Materials Approach:
As an alternative to inks and oil pastels, use any of the alternatives listed at the start of the lesson. If you have no colours available, make it into a detailed Black and White artwork instead. Focus on creating patterns either within the chameleons body or into the background.

Giacometti Inspired Foil Figures

Timeframe: 2 x 50 minute sessions
Materials:
Paper
Lead Pencil
Aluminium Foil
Colours (this could be paint, coloured pencils, crayons or felt tips)


This project is inspired by Italian artist, Alberto Giacometti.

Step 1: Use some aluminium foil to create a simple figure. It needs to be around 10-15cm tall. Take your paper and figure outside into a sunny area. Place your figure in the middle section of your paper, in such a way that it creates a shadow. Trace around your figure with a lead pencil.

Step 2:
Rotate your figure so that you create 3 or 4 versions of your figure, without them crossing over. Outline each figure and then colour them in black. Experiment with how you pose your figure into different positions.

Step 3:
Select a different colour for each figure (choose colours that you think will go well together). Draw 3 or 4 outlines around each figure. Each line should move out towards the edge of your paper. Colour in the first line with the darkest version of your chosen colour. Each line should get lighter as you go out.

Step 4:
If possible, cut around the outside line and mount your work onto a piece of black or coloured paper.

Loretta Grayson Inspired Geometric Landscapes

This project will definitely need your maths skills!
Materials:
A3 Paper
Lead Pencil
Ruler
Colours (ideally coloured pencils, but felt pens or crayons will also work)
Have a look at the work of Australian artist, Loretta Grayson.
Notice how she uses patterns and blocks of warm and cool colours.

Step 1:
Use a lead pencil to lightly draw one of two circles (you could also do an oval or 'teardrop' shape), into the middle section of your paper. You can choose to overlap your shapes and they don't need to be in the very centre of your page.
Step 2:
Draw a tree in each shape that starts at the bottom of your page and go up into and fills the circle or oval/teardrop. In the background, draw a few simple 'landscape lines'.

Step 3:
This is the tricky bit and it is important that you use your ruler! Create a grid (approximately 2cm by 2cm) that goes through the whole image, EXCEPT for the landscape lines. Use your maths skills to ensure that lines are straight and accurate.

Step 4:
Decide on a colour scheme! You can use cool colours for the tree branches and warm colours for the sky or the other way around. Or you might decide to mix them up a bit. Go back to Loretta Grayson's work and see what you think looks good!

Step 5:
Add shades of black and white to the tree trunk and a selection of 'earthy' colours to your landscape lines.

Student Examples;

Wayne Thiebaud Inspired Cupcakes

Materials:
A4 or A3 paper
Lead pencil
Crayons (you could also use coloured pencils,paint, felt pens etc)
black permanent marker
Watch the demo video and create your very own cupcake creations!

Student Samples

Encouraging Kids Art and Creativity at Home

These are just a few of my ideas about how to encourage your child's art and creativity.

Stacked, Patterned Teacups

This project will work ideally on A3 white paper, but you can use whatever you have available.

Step 1: Draw your teacups(in the centre of your page) using the 'How to' instructions. DON'T add your patterns just yet, if you have inks or watercolours available to paint with. If you don't have any, then do your patterns in pencil first and then outline with a black marker.

Step 2: If you have ink/watercolours, paint each cup a different colour,leave to dry and then add different patterns to each cup(use pencil first and then outline with black marker). If you don't have inks/watercolours, then colour over the top of your outlined patterns with coloured pencil.

Step 3:Add a line to show the table that your teacups are sitting on. Colour your table with one, solid colour. Add a picture frame to the 'wall' in the background and add a mini version of your teacups picture.

Step 4: Add some colour (with inks, watercolours or coloured pencils) to your background. You can also add a pattern to your background if you choose.

Patterned Tree Frogs

Materials:
Paper, pencil, Fine black pen, Brown crayons or coloured pencils for the branch, Ink (or watered down acrylic paint. If you don't have either of those, just use coloured pencil, but do your patterns first and colour lightly over the top).

Step 1. Follow the drawing prompt sheet to draw your tree frog and branch(you could use A4 or A4 paper).

Step 2. If you are using ink or paint, then use a mix of yellows and greens to paint your frog. If you are using coloured pencils, skip this step and go onto your patterns and come back to this step when you are done.

Step 3. Use your fine black pen to add lines of different patterns into your frog.

Step 4. Add a blue sky (using either ink/paint or coloured pencil)and some colour into the branch (you can use crayons or pencils for this).

Step 5 *Optional: Mount your work onto a different coloured background and add some tree frog footprints around the edge.

Student samples:

Online Art Learning

I will be looking at putting a number of step by step art lessons on my blog that can be completed with limited materials for those children who may not be able to currently attend school. Watch this space!