Grade: K-2
Age: 4-7

Submitted by: Linda Moucha, an art educator for Barry Community School District #1 in Barry, Il.

Media: Pastels

Time: One (30-40 minute) class period

Concept: Art History - Pastel technique

Art Element: Shape, Color

Objectives:

• To become aquainted with Vincent Van Gogh.
• To learn that pastels can be used to create a variety of lines and textural effects.
• To realize that colors can be subjective as well as objective.

1. Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) was an Impressionist painter who painted in the 1880s in Europe.
2. Vincent used bright unusual colors to paint portraits, flowers, and landscapes.
3. Colors seem brighter when drawn on dark or dull paper.
4. Bright colors and large shapes attract the viewer's attention.
5. Pastels can be used to create a variety of lines and textural effects.

Vincent Van Gogh Fourteen Sunflowers in a Vase, 1888 Oil on canvas National Gallery, London

Vocabulary:

• Impressionist art
• Bright and dull

Motivators/Visuals:

• Laurence Anholt, Camille and the Sunflowers, ©1994

What You Need:

• pastels
• 12x18 dark, dull construction paper
• pencil
• paint shirts
• fixative (optional, and used only by teacher)

What You Do:

1. Read Camille and the Sunflowers to the class. Showing the pictures and pointing out posters/visuals of pictures hung about the room at the appropriate times. Discuss the story and the artist Vincent Van Gogh.

2. Distribute pastels and paper. Have students write their name on the back of the paper in pencil or crayon. Then roll up long sleeves, as pastels can be messy!

3. Place paper vertically on the table. First create large bright sunflowers on the top half of the paper, so as not to smear the pastels. Students choose their own favorite colors, as Vincent didn't always use the "correct" colors, either!

4. After coloring in their own bright sunflowers, have them create a vase below the flowers. This vase may also be colored in. Don't forget to add stems and leaves. Try not to rub arms across the pastels.

5. Collect finished work. Teacher must use fixative on the work, which is best done outside.

Tip: