Vertical Landscapes

Year one made these vertical landscapes in three steps. Initially I led a guided drawing lesson in pencil. Next, the students traced their "good" lines with black markers and did a little erasing. Finally they coloured them any way they chose with watercolour paint.

We had just completed a science unit of work about landscapes, and it seemed only appropriate to attempt this classic art form. I took inspiration from one of Kathy Barbro's many fine lessons on Art Projects For Kids. For any eagle eyes out there, please ignore the missing comma on the class display text!

Symmetrical Silhouettes

Year 4 were working on these stylised trees for a short time at the end of each maths class. Unfortunately only a few were completed in the time I was with them — I hope to see more of them fully realised when I get a chance to visit their class again.

Using grid paper printed from this very handy site, I asked the students to make a stylised but symmetrical tree. Working from the bottom and centre, they began by drawing in pencil, then traced this with black markers before finishing with brightly coloured backgrounds of their choosing. 

Most students only seem to enjoy this type of detailed art for a short time, so just doing a little bit each day seemed to work well. As you can see, some of the trees are very stylised — I'm not sure how many were secretly drawing something else... but at least they were busy!