Van Gogh Starry Nights in Arizona

Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890 Dutch painter. He is best known for his post-Impressionist work. His most famous works include several studies of sunflowers and A Starry Night (1889)

In first grade they study the planets and solar system in January, so this is a great project to do for it. I changed it a bit to make the foreground silhouette an arizona one.

They will be doing a wax resist, the oil pastels repel the watercolor when you paint over them.

Give the PDF on Van Gogh. Van Gogh Starry Night

Materials needed:

12x18 white watercolor paper

Oil pastels- lightest colors show up best

Paintbrushes-maybe 3/4-1" wide.

Watercolors. Dark blue, --Hobby Lobby sells magic liquid water color,One or two bottles are good for a whole classroom (@3$ each)

12x18 black construction paper-precut the black paper on a long diagonal so that each child will have half a black sheet of paper for their silhouette.



Talk about what they would see in the Arizona skies. The moon, stars and planets.
Have them Start by taking white or yellow pastels and drawing the moon and stars. Have them press hard and color the dots/circles/crescent completely in. Then they take the pastels and draw the radiant lines around the stars, moon and planets ( if they drew them) they continue this process until the page is filled with the lines and swirls. Referencing van goghs starry night. At this age, it is important to demonstrate , perhaps on the board. Some of the kids will try to color in or scribble or color the background, impress upon them that it will look the best by pressing hard and drawing slowly. The white shows up later when the watercolor is applied.

The next step is to brush the dark blue watercolor thinly all over the paper. The pastels will resist the watercolor. If someone puts too much watercolor on and it is pooling, don't blot with paper towels, the pattern will show up on it. Just let it drip onto a paper towel if it's too much, generally the excess just dries fine.
As the painting is drying, the kids will take their half black paper and free cut the top edge into a Arizona landscape. Make sure they only cut the curved edge, not the bottom edge. When they are done, glue-stick the silhouette to the background for them, and make sure their names are on the back.

Don't forget to take photos for artsonia!,

Van Gogh's Sunflowers

Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890 Dutch painter. He is best known for his post-Impressionist work. His most famous works include several studies of sunflowers and A Starry Night (1889)

The kids will learn about Van Gogh, as an artist, and his series of sunflower paintings. Then they will make their own little Van Gogh's!

Materials needed:

12 x 18 Acrylic paper or drawing paper.

Tempura paint- (in the art room)- Yellow, green, brown & red

Pencils, Medium paint brushes

Disposable plates or plastic palettes for mixing paints.

A vase with real or fake sunflowers

Images of sunflower paintings

What You Do:

First, introduce the students to Van Gogh. Show them the Slide show, and trying to get them enthused and ask questions about what they see, or are interested in. Take time to discuss the different elements that they notice in each painting that they are to imitate, as well as the principles of art. We discuss the use of color and techniques we might use to paint certain aspects of each work of art. Ask them what they think Van Gogh's favorite color was (yellow!) Talk about and show them real sunflowers, how they grow, show how they droop a little in the vase sometimes. Try www.sunflowers.com for loads of information.

Explain and show students how lots of yellow and a tiny drop of red mix to make an orangey-yellow. Have a helper pass out a paper towel, paintbrush and set up the paint palettes. The plate should have lots of yellow, tiny bit of red, brown (for pot, or center of flowers) and green (for stems)

Have the students write their name on the back of the paper, then they can sketch a vase with their pencil. Not the flowers, they are freehand. If it is kindergarten then you might pre-trace vases on the paper. Then the students are left to paint their unique versions of the famous masterpiece. They will need lots of encouragement, and with different levels of motor skills and artistic ability, sometimes lots of help. Make sure to ask other moms for help on the big day.

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/

Link to Van Gogh Sunflower slideshow