Leaping lizards
Arts & Activities, April, 2005 by Cheryl Crumpecker
Drawing flowers, shoes, teddy bears and bowls of fruit all provide valuable learning experiences but, sometimes, students yearn for a bit of excitement that they just can't get from these oft-drawn objects. Even if your space is limited and your budget small, a large variety of unique miniature objects can still be obtained to provide inspiration for creative expression.
One of my favorite acquisitions was a basketful of colorful realistic rubber lizards. The lizards have proven to be a favorite of both the boys and girls. The drawings made from these three-dimensional critters are always exceptional. Lizards are depicted slithering through branches, pausing to stare, munch an insect or performing acrobatic feats as only a lizard can.
However, when trying to render them in a realistic style, the lizards' colors and patterns were often either too bold or too camouflaged for their environments. This year we chose a method that solved this problem perfectly.
After drawing their lizards and their woodsy environments with permanent black markers, students painted their entire pictures using the wet-on-wet watercolor technique. Usually when using watercolors, the primary grades are constantly striving for control of the materials. I coach them, "Don't use too much water, stay within the lines, mix the colors you want from the primaries, don't let wet colors touch each other." But, this project offered more freedom as students painted their entire paper with water and, while areas were still damp, they added watercolor paints that then bled both inside and outside their objects' boundaries.
The extra moisture and bleeding causes the colors to become blurred, soft and muted. Although these are effects that we were striving for, many of the pictures now lacked the strength of contrast. To achieve this contrast of color (bright/dull, strong/muted, light/dark), students added areas of bold pastels either to their lizards' bodies or on their backgrounds. The pictures came alive as the pastels brightened geckos or enhanced foliage. Leaping lizards, these drawings are exciting!
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will ...
* draw a realistic lizard from a still-life object.
* understand the wet-in-wet watercolor method.
* become familiar with the terms "muted" and "contrast."
MATERIALS
* Three-dimensional models of lizards/toy lizards
* Black permanent markers 11" x 14" watercolor paper
* Watercolors (I use liquid watercolor) Paintbrushes
* Cups of water
* Oil pastels
* Paper towels
Cheryl Crumpecker teaches K-3 art at St. Paul's Episcopal Day School in Kansas City, Mo.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Publishers' Development Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group
Bibliography for "Leaping lizards"
Cheryl Crumpecker "Leaping lizards". Arts & Activities. April 2005. FindArticles.com. 23 Sep. 2006.
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