Artworks in Progress

I don't often get the chance to walk around as the students are working and take photographs of their artworks in progress as we're usually just too busy! I think it's important to recognise however, just how much effort and work goes into a finished piece of work prior to display. Often it is weeks of preparation, tuning in to a particular activity and refining the students' skills before artworks are complete and ready for all to see. I think it is great to see the journey that an artwork takes from start to finish, so here are some of the senior students working hard recently on their crazy hair line portraits. You can see a post of the finished artworks if you scroll down below. Enjoy! 

Paul Klee Cubist Fish

Students in grades 1 & 2 created these colourful cubist fish inspired by the work of Paul Klee. Students have been learning colour theory this term and learned about warm and cool colours. Students were asked to colour their fish with warm colours, and the background with cool colours.

We looked at the work of Paul Klee, in particular his painting ‘Sinbad the Sailor’, which features a fish just like these. Students completed a directed line drawing of a fish and added colour with poster paints. They used an oil pastel resist technique in the background to add lines and patterns. We love how unique each fish is!

Crazy Hair Line Portraits

Students in the senior grades have been learning about the elements of art this term. We began the term by focusing on the element of line, and how it is used in artworks. We looked at different ways of using patterns and lines to create interesting pieces of art, and experimented with ways of weaving lines and patterns together.

Students were shown how to draw a simple portrait and were asked to apply their knowledge of line to create character with crazy hair. Students were given time to practice sketching in their visual diaries before working on their final piece. Students used various tools such as pencils, fine liners, sharpies, and textas to create these stunning black and white portraits. We are absolutely amazed with the results! Students were meticulous in their efforts on these pieces and should be very proud. 

Sidney Nolan's Ned Kelly

As part of their unit of study on ‘Bushrangers’, students in grades 3 and 4 have been learning about the work of Sidney Nolan in art. Sidney Nolan was a famous Australian artist best known for his series of paintings featuring the notorious bushranger Ned Kelly. Students studied landscape paintings and drawings earlier in the term and learned techniques for creating a landscape.

We looked at the work of Sidney Nolan and discussed his Ned Kelly series. Students were then asked to paint a typical Australian landscape in the style of Nolan’s paintings. Once dry, students added Ned Kelly as the main subject, typically seen riding his horse in the Australian outback. Students experimented with colour blending and various painting techniques to create their background and main subject. The results are very impressive!