Light Through Trees
Painting on wet paper will keep you focused on the process - rather than perfection. Your students stay in the moment, working with primary colors to create space and depth. They won’t be able to control the materials, so they can just let go of trying to “do it right.”
I like to talk to them about how the light they are painting has temperature and is solid. We talk about how light has speed, mass, particles, and waves. Light can be a character in their images, films and stories.
In painting this image, they also learn color theory and a perspective strategy without realizing it. The results are always calming and beautiful.
Materials needed:
Mixed media paper soaked in water (a cookie sheet works well!)
a larger round brush
Blue, red and yellow tempra or acrylic paint
a rag
a jar of water
a piece or cardboard or canvas (or the back of your cookie sheet) to lay the paper on
I love to use this assignment for SEL./Art therapy.
I ask my college students to recreate this painting in Photoshop. It’s a fantastic way to introduce layers, color and transparency, and painting tools. Then, I ask them to import a photo of their painting to layer onto their digital work. I use this to asses their facility with the software.
