Q-TIP® POINTILLISM
Subject:
Art History
Grade:
all
Age:
all
Submitted by:
S.Klein, an art educator from California.
Objectives:
Learning about the style of art known as pointillism and the artist (Georges Seurat) who created it.
Vocabulary:
pointillism, dots, divisionism, Georges Seurat, color mixing, pure color, melt, combine, arrange
What You Need:
- watercolors
- q-tips®
- watercolor paper
- drafting tape
What You Do:
- Begin by discussing Georges Seurat with students. Specifically, his use of dots to make paintings and his use of primary colors placed next to each other instead of mixing colors.
- Tape the edges of the paper with drafting tape.
- Sketch basic landscape with a pencil.
- Wet the paint with a brush, dip the q-tip in water and dip it into the paint.
- Pressing down lightly will make a small dot, more pressure will create a larger one.
- Have the students try to fill up as much of the paper as possible with color.
- Remove the tape when the painting is dry.
Artist Biography:
Georges Seurat was a painter who was interested in shape and pattern, but he approached these things in a very unusual way. He was the developer of a very scientific way of painting known as pointillism. He used tiny dots of pure color, side by side to build form in his paintings. These tiny dots of paint, when side by side, give the viewer's eye a chance to blend the color optically, rather than having the colors readily blended on the canvas. This was also known as divisionism.
More Information:
Georges Seurat Biography
A print and save biography from About Inc.
Recommended Books:
Georges Seurat: Masters of Art
by Pierre Courthion
Biography:
S. Klein is an art instructor in elementary and middle school classrooms
