I love springtime- the fresh air smells, the increased daylight, the sunshine and weather that is warming up. Springtime also conjures up many memories of seasons past- it is a time of year when many of us need a bit of cheering up. At school there remains the busyness of final quarter assignments and looming exams. The art room is in a constant flurry of activity and creative messes- students are coming in and out throughout the day and piles of artwork are everywhere!
Sunflowers are bright and cheery- they remind me of my grandmother, she loved them. Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers is the inspiration for this year’s elementary still lifes. As a class we looked at his paintings and discussed the colours he used- a lot of yellows! I asked the students whether this made the painting look happy. A few observant little ones noticed not all of the flowers were alive, some of them droop and have withered, brown petals.
In first grade, we did sunflower drawings inspired by van Gogh’s and looking at our own still life vase of sunflowers. We added the colours and textures we observed using oil pastels.
In kindergarten, we made a collaborative sunflower painting. The students each cut their own flower shape from a coffee filter and added the different textures and colours they observed from the still life set up. Some of their colour choices were lovely! I then had them paint the background and vase, copying the colours they saw in van Gogh’s painting. Then they each stuck down their flower to fill the vase and added green stems and leaves. This one looks so great hanging up in the hallway!
Gateway Art 