Great American Artists for Kids: Hands-On Art Experiences in the Styles of Great American Masters
144
Great American Artists for Kids: Hands-On Art Experiences in the Styles of Great American Masters
144eBook
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781641601733 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Chicago Review Press, Incorporated |
| Publication date: | 07/02/2019 |
| Series: | Bright Ideas for Learning (TM) Series , #9 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 144 |
| Lexile: | 1020L (what's this?) |
| File size: | 14 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
| Age Range: | 4 - 12 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
John Singleton Copley
July 3, 1738–September 9, 1815 Realist painter, Narrative, Portrait
John Singleton Copley [KOP-lee] was born in the colonial city of Boston in the years before the United States was an independent country. He taught himself how to paint and became Boston's most popular portrait artist. Portraits were a fine way for an artist to make a living because rich people paid top dollar to have an artist paint their pictures. Copley created many portraits of Boston's wealthiest families. One of his most famous portraits is of the patriot Paul Revere. Copley was very good at portraits, but he really loved to make paintings showing thrilling moments in history. In 1774, he moved to England and began to specialize in historical drama. He painted battle scenes and great sea victories. His best-known painting, Watson and the Shark, shows the true story of sailors trying to rescue a young swimmer from a hungry shark. Copley painted the most dramatic moment of the rescue, when the boatman is about to spear the shark as it surges toward the floundering boy. People viewing the painting have no way to tell if the boy will be saved or will be captured by the shark. The true ending of the story is that young Watson was rescued and grew up to be mayor of London at the time Copley lived there.
Narrative Drama
Copley's art tells stories. A picture that tells a story is called a narrative. Before cameras were invented, pictures were drawn of an event from reports by people who were witnesses. Draw a narrative picture, choosing a dramatic event. The story can be a true event or imagined.
Materials
white 9-by-12-inch drawing paper
pencil and eraser
for inspiration: news magazines, newspapers
choice of coloring tools: paints, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, markers, or crayons
Process
1 Select a dramatic event to illustrate: a true event, perhaps a recent story from a newspaper, or an imaginary event. A rescue is the perfect subject to capture the spirit of Copley's famous painting, Watson and the Shark. Possible ideas include:
• fire fighters saving people from a burning building
• lifeguards trying to reach a swimmer through crashing ocean waves
• search-and-rescue team finding an injured hiker
• rock climbers rescuing a fallen climber who is clinging to dangerous rocks
2 Draw the scene from imagination, focusing on elements that tell the story. Try to imagine the scene as it really happened if true, or might have happened if imaginary. Choose what parts of the story to include in the drawing and what to leave out. Sketch with a pencil and eraser, and feel free to add elements that make the picture more dramatic. Zoom in on the action. Draw the people up close and fill the drawing paper edge-to-edge. Idea for detail: Use the Internet to find photos of equipment, see what a firefighter uniform looks like, or learn how a climbing rope attaches to a rock climber.
3 Color the drawing with a choice of paints, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, markers, or crayons.
4 Idea for Expression: Use color contrast to make the drawing more interesting, spooky, or dramatic. To do this, color the center of the action with bright colors, while making the background dark and shadowy.
CHAPTER 2Thomas Jefferson
April 13, 1743–July 4, 1826 Architect, Classical
Thomas Jefferson [JEF-er-sun] was an influential Founding Father of the United States of America, the third president of the United States (1801–1809), and the leading author of the Declaration of Independence (1776). Architecture was Jefferson's favorite thing. He collected a private library of books about architecture and taught himself about Greek and Roman classical buildings. The keystone arch was one of his favorite design features. Some fun things to know about Jefferson: he washed his feet every morning in cold water to prevent colds, he was over six feet tall with red hair, he could read seven languages, and he once had a pet mockingbird. Jefferson died on the fourth of July in 1826, and many years later in 1993, he was honored with the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal.
Clay Keystone Arch
The arch is a way of making a roof, doorway, or window using only clay bricks or blocks of wood or stone. The weight of the blocks holds the arch together without beams, cement, glue, or tape. To experiment with this phenomenon, build a keystone arch with play clay. The "key" stone will make the arch stand. Add more walls and windows to expand this architectural experience.
Materials
play clay, Plasticine, or other clays
plastic placemat or a large sheet of paper
assortment of clay tools: ruler, hammer, plastic knife, toothpick, rolling pin, bamboo skewer
optional building materials: wooden building blocks, marshmallows, cardboard boxes, milk cartons
Process
1 Form clay into small bricks about 1- to 2-inches square. Make about 20 blocks, all the same size. More can be made, but 20 is a good number to begin.
2 Stack five to nine of the blocks in a column that balances nicely.
3 Stack an equal number of blocks into a second column a few inches away from the first.
4 Now for the magic moment that Jefferson loved! Form one keystone block that is slightly smaller at the bottom and larger at the top. Hold the keystone between the columns. Slowly lean the two columns inward toward each other, holding the keystone between them. Let the columns touch the keystone. Let go! Do the two columns form an arch that stands alone? If not, try again. It will work with a few more attempts. Try higher or lower columns, and larger or smaller bricks. This is an experiment, which means trying different ideas is important and interesting.
5 When the two columns meet in a curve and stand alone, the keystone arch is a success.
6 Continue building more walls, doors, or windows, if desired. Add a cardboard roof. Think of other features to add, like a flagpole and flag, sidewalk, or courtyard.
CHAPTER 3Gilbert Stuart
December 3, 1755–June 9, 1828 Realist painter, Portrait
Gilbert Stuart [STOO-ert] grew up in the American colony of Rhode Island before the United States was an independent nation. He traveled to Scotland, England, and Ireland to study art. He then returned to America about the time the war for independence broke out, but he returned to Europe once again because the war made his career as an artist difficult. Even so, he didn't find much success until he came back to the United States in 1795, when he painted a portrait of George Washington. The portrait soon became famous, and the demand for copies and new paintings kept Stuart very busy. Stuart is called the "father of American portraiture" because he painted pictures of all the famous people of early America. One of his paintings of George Washington was hung in the White House. During the War of 1812, the British burned the White House, but First Lady Dolly Madison rescued the painting before it went up in flames. Today, this painting still hangs in the East Room of the White House. The image of Washington on the US dollar bill came from one of Stuart's most famous paintings of Washington.
Painted Crackle Crayon
Stuart's portrait paintings are now 200 years old, and the smooth, glossy oil paints he used have dried and aged, showing antique texture cracks. To approximate a crackled antique appearance, draw a portrait on manila paper with crayons. Gently crumple the portrait into a ball, then open and flatten it, causing cracks and creases. Paint over the portrait with a thin black wash.
Materials
manila paper, 9 by 12 inches
crayons
paint wash: black tempera paint, thinned with water
2 soft paintbrushes
white glue, slightly thinned with water
construction paper, larger than manila paper (optional)
Process
1 Draw a picture portrait of someone's face. Draw and color heavily with crayon, covering the manila paper with thick crayon color.
2 When the portrait is done, gently crumple the paper into a little ball. Squeeze it and press on it to get a very wrinkled ball of paper. Then carefully open and flatten the paper on the work surface.
3 To create the cracked design, brush the black paint wash over the crayon work. A thin wash works best. (Any dark color will work in place of black.) The paint will go into all the little cracks that appeared when the paper was crumpled, but it won't stick to the waxy crayon. Let the artwork dry.
4 Once dry, a coating of slightly thinned white glue can be brushed onto the portrait to give it a little shine. Dry overnight.
5 The completed crackle design may be further glued or taped to a larger sheet of colored paper to give it added weight and a colorful framed edge.
CHAPTER 4Edward Hicks
April 4, 1780–August 23, 1849 Folk art painter
Edward Hicks [hiks] was born in Pennsylvania just a few years after the United States became an independent nation. He grew up on his father's farm. As a young man, he became an apprentice coachmaker and used his artistic abilities by painting designs on the coaches and signs for many of the businesses in his town. When Hicks became a Quaker, a peaceful and conservative religion, he gave up painting and for many years was a traveling preacher in the northern US and Canada. He later decided that a good Quaker must earn a living, and because painting was one of his skills, he returned to creating art with a message. He believed deeply in peaceful cooperation, and his paintings express this spiritual message over and over. Hick's most famous work is titled The Peaceable Kingdom. He made nearly 100 paintings with this same title. The paintings show animals who are natural enemies lying down peacefully together: a lion rests next to a lamb, predators sit gently with their prey, little children walk unharmed among wild animals. His paintings have a moral message that helps people understand they could live peacefully together.
Peaceable Collage
Find animals in magazine pictures that are natural enemies in the wild. Clip and assemble these and other collage materials in a simple, peaceful collage.
Materials
sheet of heavy paper or posterboard
magazines with wildlife photos
scissors
white glue or glue stick
any additional collage materials: crayons, markers, leaves, grass, yarn, small fabric scraps, sequins, glitter, colored paper scraps, foil, dry rice or beans, sand, sewing trims, lace, buttons
Process
1 Look through magazines for photos of animals that are natural enemies or "predator and prey." Some possible choices are: the arctic wolf and caribou, owl and field mouse, lion and zebra, or shark and colorful coral reef fish.
2 Cut out each animal picture chosen, cutting around the animal shapes following the edges of their bodies.
3 Arrange the prey and predator pictures on white paper or posterboard in any design. Glue the pictures in place.
4 A collage is a design made from many different elements, so now add any coloring, outlining, decorations, papers, or other materials and items to finish the collage. Glue and color until satisfied. The finished artwork will show animals together in a peaceful design.
CHAPTER 5John James Audubon
April 26, 1785–January 27, 1851 Realist painter, Naturalist
John James Audubon [AW-duh-bahn] set a goal to paint every kind of bird in North America and to do it by observing real birds in the fields and forests where they lived. The paintings he created are the most famous pictures of birds in the world. Audubon was born on an island in the Caribbean. He grew up in France, then he moved to the United States as a young man. He was interested in the natural history of birds, how they behaved, and where they lived. He spent much of his time roaming and painting in the outdoors, but he was a good businessman, too. He took his paintings to Europe and had them made into fine prints to sell to collectors. Audubon's book, Birds of America, filled with large, hand-colored engravings of birds, has been called the greatest picture book ever made. Audubon's art shows birds in their natural habitats. He traveled through the wilderness to find new species to capture and paint. His work took him from the swamps of Florida to the ice of northern Canada, and his dedication to excellence made John James Audubon one of the best-known American artists of all.
Draw Bugs 'n' Critters
Adult supervision required
John James Audubon observed real birds as models for his paintings. He drew birds in their natural settings, active and true to life. Explore Audubon's techniques by drawing a living creature like a bug or animal found in your area.
Materials
a living bug or other critter
handheld magnifying glass
small clear jar
aluminum foil for lid
tool to poke holes in foil, such as an opened paper clip
drawing paper
pencils and eraser
choice of coloring tools: colored pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, marking pens, watercolors
Process
Draw Bugs
1. It's easy to find an insect model to draw, especially during warm summer months. Bugs are everywhere: moths circling the porch light, ants crawling on the sidewalk, ladybugs and beetles flying in the garden. Place the insect in a small clear jar covered tightly with aluminum foil. Poke tiny holes in the foil to let in air. Bugs will be released unharmed at the end of the project. Adult supervision is required.
2 Drawing a living bug is an adventure in observation. A handheld magnifying glass is great for seeing details. Look closely. Notice the bug's colors and shapes, how the legs move, the appearance of wings and antennae and eyes. Work big! Lightly sketch its outline on paper, making the picture much larger than the actual bug.
3 Draw each part of the bug, looking at the living model to draw every detail as realistically as possible.
4 Color the drawing with colored pencils, markers, or crayons, or use watercolors and a fine-tip paintbrush.
5 Audubon liked to name his art and provide dates or other details. Do the same with a pencil or pen, if desired.
6 When the drawing is complete, return the bug to the place where it was caught so it can continue with its life, unharmed.
Draw Critters
Other living creatures can be drawn in detail as well. Following are some suggestions. All shoud be observed or captured safely and released with your adult helper.
• lizard
• frog
• dog
• cat
• parakeet
• parrot
• gerbil
• hamster
• guinea pig
• rabbit
• fish
CHAPTER 6Frederic Remington
October 4, 1861–December 26, 1909 Realist sculptor, painter
When he was a boy growing up in New York, Frederic Remington [REM-ing-tuhn] liked to draw pictures of firefighters, soldiers, heroes, and adventurous people. He grew up to draw, paint, and sculpt the heroes of the American West, and he became the most famous of all cowboy artists. The American West was a thrilling land to visit in 1881 when young Remington first left the city and traveled to the wild frontier of the Montana Territory. He sketched the scenery and people he met in his travels. Remington sold his drawings to publishers in the East, where newspapers and magazines were thrilled to receive such exciting illustrations. Remington returned to the East and a studio in New York filled with a huge collection of Western souvenirs and cowboy clothing. Here Remington painted romantic pictures of colorful trappers, cavalry, bronco-busters, and Native American braves. He learned how to make bronze statues of his art by pouring molten metal into a hollow mold, a process that allowed him to make hundreds of bronze copies of a single sculpture. His bronze statues of cowboys and horses are his most famous works. Although Remington did not live a long life, he was a hardworking, successful artist who created thousands of works of art celebrating the American West.
Face Casting
Adult supervision required
Remington created bronze statues by making a clay sculpture first, an art process called "casting." Polymer clay and Plaster of Paris will take the place of Remington's clay and molten bronze materials. The artist can make a casting of a face in this sculpture project.
Materials
1 to 2 pounds of polymer clay, such as Sculpey or Fimo
Plaster of Paris (found at a hardware or hobby store)
water and container for mixing plaster
small sticks and other small tools to shape the clay
choice of decorating materials: markers, acrylic paints and paintbrush
Process
1 Start with a small lump of polymer clay about the size of a lemon. Squeeze it to soften. Push the lump onto a table and shape it into a face. Think of a face to make such as a monster, superhero, princess, cat, owl, any face at all. Poke and pinch the clay to make a nose, eyes, lips, and hair. Use small tools to poke and carve textures and details into the clay.
2 Have an adult bake the clay face sculpture following the instructions on the polymer clay box. Then let it cool completely after baking.
3 The casting part of this project starts once the face sculpture is baked and hardened. Now it is time to make a mold of the face sculpture, then cast a copy of it. To do this, take a large chunk of polymer clay and flatten it into a brick shape that is 2 inches wider and taller than the face sculpture, and is about 3 inches thick.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Great American Artists for Kids"
by .
Copyright © 2019 MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga.
Excerpted by permission of Chicago Review Press Incorporated.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Icon Guide,
Introduction,
1 Early American Art,
2 New American Ideas,
3 American Art Explodes,
4 American Art Onward,
Websites to Explore,
Glossary,
Artists by Art Style,
Portrait Credits,
What People are Saying About This
Great American Artists for Kids: Hands-On Art in the Styles of Great American Masters (2008) is written in the tradition of my other best-selling art books, that is, it values the child's unique creativity, individual discovery, and joyful exploration of art. Those of us who work with children and their development believe in "Process, not Product", which means that the child's creative process is more important than the finished product. However, the activities presented in this book are also highly satisfying to see and deeply atheistically enriching to enjoy. Each art project is all new and uses easy to find materials like paint and glue, cardboard and ribbon, and other common materials. One of the most exciting aspects of this book is that it is packed with full color images of great masterpieces by great American artists -- and also by amazing children! Over 75 artists are featured, and the color examples of their art are bright and clear and inspiring. My Bright Ring website has sample pages you can download, as well as a full click-to list of masterpiece examples for each of the 75 artists. As the great American artist Joseph Raffael said about this book, "This book shows art at its fullest and liveliest and brings out and inspires the would-be artist in all of us! The spirit of creativity streams off its pages. What a gift this is to young and old alike and indeed art itself. Looking at the book makes me want to rush into my studio and paint!" The child-tested activities are truly inspirational and...FUN!