Lesson Plans: Watercolor Painting
Main Resources
Painting in Waldorf Education
by Dick Bruin and Attie Lichthart
"Watercolor Painting: Color Experience and Developing Form"
Double Workshop by Kelly Morrow (DVD, 60 minutes)
Notes
Begin with the First Exercise for Teachers - mixing the two yellows
to get a true yellow, the two
reds to get a true red, and the two blues to get a true blue.
I recommend a 3/4 inch brush.
Let the paper soak in a bin of clean water for 5-10 minutes before painting.
Lay it flat and brush surface with a clean dry kitchen sponge to absorb excess water
and get out any air bubbles which are stuck underneath.
Turn the brush over and use the wooden handle to write your name in the lower corner
while the painting is still wet.
Materials for a Painting Lesson - first we lay out our tray (I can't afford plexiglass painting boards
for the entire classroom, we use cafeteria-type trays) and sponge and brush, then set the watercolor paper
to soak in a bin of water, then set out our paints and clean rinse water (in half-pint jelly jars)
Don't forget that once you dilute and mix the paints, they must be kept in the fridge or they will spoil! The containers of
concentrated paints are shelf-stable.
Lesson Plans
- August 24, 2009 - how to care for materials, yellow radiating out from the center filling the page (sun)
poem: "The Sun" by Grace Nichols
The sun is a glowing spider that crawls out from underneath the earth to make her way across the sky warming and weaving with her bright old fingers of light.
- August 25, 2009 - blue, river (follow-up to form drawing - resting line), diluting color with water to make lighter sky
- August 26, 2009 - red, anger of troll (follow up to form drawing - The Three Billy Goats Gruff
)
- August 27, 2009 - color story from Kelly Morrow's workshop, yellow skipping and dancing around on the playground (center of paper),
blue is shy and slowly edges up to yellow but does not get up the courage to play
- August 28, 2009 - color story building on yesterday's, today blue and yellow play together and make green
- September 1, 2009 - reverse of last color story, blue begins in the middle with yellow circling around him, convinces
him to play
- September 2, 2009 - students compose story about Yellow and Blue (follow up to Form Drawing story of the Rainbow and
Sun Fairies and Rain Fairies), then paint it
- September 3, 2009 - meadow scene, follow up to Form Drawing story of Little Red-Cap, begin with
whole page blue, leave blue sky, blend blue and yellow together at the bottom to make green grass, and then use the corner
of the brush and a tiny bit of paint to dot little
specks of color for flowers, a splash of color for Little Red-Cap's red hood bobbing along
This was the first time blue, yellow and red
were
all made available to the child.
End of Watercolor Painting block
- September 21, 2009 - read The Mixed-Up Chameleon
"Watercolor Animal" activity from Teaching Art with Books Kids Love: Art Elements, Appreciation, and Design with Award-Winning Books
(this involves drawing an animal shape and painting inside the line with clear water, then using eyedroppers
to drop watercolor paint inside the line and watching the colors spread and blend, we used the three primary colors)
- September 22, 2009 - Autumn poem (First Day of Autumn)
Red in Autumn
by Elizabeth Gould
Tippery-toes, the smallest elf,
Sat on a mushroom, by himself.
Playing a little tinkling tune
Under the big round harvest moon;
And this is the song that Tippery made
To sing to the little tune he played.
"Red are the hips, red are the haws,
Red and gold are the leaves that fall,
Red are the poppies in the corn,
Red berries on the rowan tall;
Red is the big round harvest moon,
And red are my new little dancing shoon."
Little red leaves are glad today
For the wind is blowing them off and away.
They're flying here, they're flying there,
Little red leaves, you're everywhere!
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