EASY WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES CFE 3235V OPEN CAPTIONED COYOTE CREEK PRODUCTIONS 1991 Grade Levels: 4-12 50 minutes 1 Instructional Graphic Enclosed
DESCRIPTION Donna Hughes demonstrates four easy lessons in watercolor technique. Each lesson has two parts, with a one-day drying period between parts. Necessary supplies for one lesson include a standard box of watercolor paints, a 12" x 18" sheet of white construction paper, a cup of water, a No. 6 brush, a paper towel, and a black crayon or black felt-tip pen. ART LESSONS FOR CHILDREN SERIES. INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS To demonstrate easy techniques for using watercolor. To demonstrate that watercolor may be transparent or opaque. To illustrate the meaning of certain art-related vocabulary. To encourage enjoyment of this painting and drawing activity. BEFORE SHOWING 1. Preview the video to determine unfamiliar vocabulary and language concepts. 2. Schedule at least 40 minutes for each lesson, divided into 20-minute periods on two days, not including setup time. 3. Set the video to start at the appropriate spot. The video segments are divided as follows: a. Lesson 1: Part 1, 10 minutes; Part 2, 5 minutes b. Lesson 2: Part 1, 5 minutes; Part 2, 5 minutes c. Lesson 3: Part 1, 7 minutes; Part 2, 6 minutes d. Lesson 4: Part 1, 8 minutes; Part 2, 4 minutes 4. Arrange art supplies for immediate use after the video demonstration. 1
a. For the first part of Lessons 1-4, necessary supplies include: A standard box of watercolor paints. A 12" x 18" sheet of white construction paper. A cup of water. A No. 6 brush. A paper towel, with extras available. A black crayon (for Lesson 4 only). b. For the second part of Lessons 1-4, materials include: The dry painting created during the first part of the lesson. A black crayon or a black felt-tip pen with a medium or fine point. c. For the second part of Lesson 4 only, obtain: Scissors. Paste or glue. A 12" x 18" sheet of dark construction paper. AFTER SHOWING 1. Perform the activities demonstrated in the video. 2. Place the paintings where they can dry undisturbed. 3. Display the completed paintings. 4. Share watercolor paintings by other artists. a. Bring watercolor paintings to the classroom. b. Visit a watercolor exhibit in a museum or art gallery. c. Display art books with large illustrations of watercolors. d. Identify magazine advertisements or book illustrations that appear to have been done in watercolor. 5. Using the appropriate vocabulary, describe the different watercolor paintings. (See INSTRUCTIONAL GRAPHICS.) 2
INSTRUCTIONAL GRAPHICS One instructional graphic is included with this lesson guide. It may be enlarged and used to create transparencies or copies. LET S TALK ABOUT ART SUMMARY Donna Hughes presents four easy art lessons in the use of watercolor techniques. The four lessons are: Watercolor Flowers, Watercolor Discovery, Desert Scene, and Opaque Watercolor. Each of the four lessons has two parts, with a one-day drying period between parts. Hughes announces when it is time to stop the video and get to work. Each demonstration is presented with the expectation that the necessary supplies are on hand for use immediately after the demonstration. Supplies for one lesson include a standard box of watercolor paints, a 12" x 18" sheet of white construction paper, a cup of water, a No. 6 brush, a paper towel, and a black crayon or black felt-tip pen. The paints are used on the first day and the black crayon or felt-tip pen on the second day of each lesson. Lesson 4 is slightly different, because a crayon is used on both days, and a pair of scissors, paste or glue, and a 12" x 18" sheet of dark construction paper are additional supplies needed on the second day. The first three lessons present watercolors in their transparent form. In the first lesson, splotches of color are placed on the paper and allowed to run into each other at the edges. With the help of a black crayon, they become large flowers. In the second lesson, colors are placed on the paper and pushed around with a brush. Using a black crayon or felt-tip marker, the artist defines 3
accidental shapes within and around the overlapping colors. In the third lesson, Hughes uses hot colors and suggests shapes and placement to create a sample desert scene. Once again, the black lines bring out the details. The fourth lesson uses watercolor in a completely different way, as intense opaque color. The subject is a decorative fish. It is outlined in black, cut out, and pasted on a dark background. Hughes uses much art vocabulary, but her demonstrations help to define the terms. She calls a small brush inhibiting and says a very large brush is hard to control. The colors of the rainbow are also called the colors of the spectrum. Red, orange, and yellow are hot colors. Green, blue, and violet or purple are cool colors. Brown and black might kill the picture. Hughes loads her brush with color and demonstrates that more water makes the color pale, while less water makes it bright and vibrant. White spots give the paper sparkle. Overlapping the colors excessively results in mud, but certain mixtures have exciting results. The colors in the desert scene are analogous because they are close to one another in the color spectrum. Cutting out the decorative fish and mounting it on dark paper gives the work more focus. Talking as she works, Hughes encourages emerging artists throughout the lessons. Everybody is an artist. You have it right inside you. 4
CFE 3235 V EASY WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES LET STALK ABOUTART DIRECTIONS: Certain words are helpful when we want to talk about art. These words were used by artist Donna Hughes as in the video, Easy Watercolor Techniques. Try to use the words in italics to talk about your paintings or other paintings that you like. Those colors red, orange, and yellow are called the hot colors. And then we have green, blue and violet--or you might call it purple. These colors are generally called the cool colors. We re using a technique called transparent watercolor. That means the paper may show through. By using a little bit less water, and a little bit more color, I get a very bright, vibrant color. If you put too much background in... it s going to look too cluttered. Notice that I m wiggling my brush, I m pushing my brush, I m doing whatever I feel like with my brush, and I m not getting upset when the watercolor runs. You know, there are a lot of happy accidents in art. It s ok to have some white spaces. Artists say that those white spaces give your paper sparkle. Red, orange, yellow are right close to each other in the color spectrum, so it s called an analogous color scheme. Guess what? Analogous colors put together almost always work. Now if you want something to come closer to you, you can just mix up your colors a little bit thicker and the thickness will make it darker and it comes closer to you. [After adding black lines to the desert painting] Well, right away my picture begins to pull together or look more defined. Try to use your pen in different ways, just as you tried to use your brush in a different way and by twisting--look at that nice line you get. You see the background here, the middle ground there, and all this... all these things are in the foreground and that s why I left it to last. Opaque watercolor really means a very thick watercolor. Notice the brightness of those colors. Brilliance is a quality that you do want in watercolor occasionally.