This week we all finished off our masterpieces!

Amber & Turquoise Class

Most of our reception and year 1 and 2 artists had finished their Monet-inspired acrylic paintings last week so this week we played some painting games! We created crazy monsters by throwing dice to determine how many of each body part we had to add to our monster. We took turns to suggest body parts- some of our monsters had four arms, five legs and six belly buttons!

Magenta & Violet Class

The year 3 and 4 artists used small brushes and cotton buds to add more detail to our paintings based on the work of Yvonne Coomber. We painted small circles within the larger circles we painted last week, using contrasting and complementary colours. We added some pearlised acrylic paint as a finishing touch to give our canvases a bit of sparkle! We were really pleased with how our paintings turned out.

Maroon & Emerald Class

This week the year 5 and 6 students used tiny brushes to add details to our Klimt-inspired Tree of Life paintings. Some of us chose an abstract approach, using Klimt’s painting to suggest ideas for patterns we could paint on our trees. Others decided to design motifs representing aspects of our lives, for example favourite sports, animals and hobbies. We used a combination of normal acrylic and pearlised acrylic to give our canvases a shimmering quality. They look great as a group!

Each class continued with their paintings on canvas this week, in preparation for our exhibition. 

Amber & Turquoise Class

Our reception year 1 and year 2 artists added details to their paintings based on Monet’s Water Lilies. We practised the technique of layering up different shades of green and purple to depict a lily pad before choosing where to paint the lily pads on our canvases. We then learned how to create a lily, and added them to our work. The results are looking beautiful!

Magenta & Violet Class

In our year 3 and 4 groups we continued with our paintings based on the work of artist Yvonne Coomber. We used toothbrushes and ready mixed paint to add tiny flowers using a splattering technique, which was great fun and really effective! We then moved on to acrylics, painting small circles onto the canvases to become more flowers. We discussed the idea of perspective, and aimed to show a sense of depth by painting smaller flowers in the background and larger ones in the foreground. We’re making really good progress and next week we will finish these paintings off!

Maroon & Emerald Class

In the year 5 and 6 groups we continued with our Gustav Klimt-inspired Tree of Life paintings. We sketched our own versions of the tree onto pre-painted canvases before using fine brushes and gold acrylic to paint our designs. All the swirls made it quite a fiddly job and we needed to concentrate! Next week we’ll be adding the finishing touches.

This week each class began working on their final painting to be shown in our Christmas Exhibition. We experimented with acrylic paint, learning how to use it in both its original and watered down states. We used a variety of tools, including brushes, pieces of cardboard and palette knives, to create different textures and effects. We then used our new skills to start work on our masterpieces on canvas!

Amber & Turquoise Class

Our reception and year 1 and 2 artists are working on a painting inspired by Monet’s Water Lilies. We worked with ready mixed paint first, learning how to alter the tone by adding white, and then used our colour mixing skills to add some purple tones. We practised creating wavy effects in our sketchbooks before painting onto our canvases. As a finishing touch, we used pearlescent blue acrylic paint to add some highlights, making a lovely shimmery effect. We will be adding the water lilies next week!

We have two year 10 students, Lilly and Phoebe, currently volunteering in Amber class as part of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Amber class enjoyed having additional support!

Magenta & Violet Class

The year 3 and 4 artists are working on a painting inspired by American artist Yvonne Coomber (see example, bottom right). We built on our knowledge of blending colours to create variegated washes to paint the background. We used a damp sponge to clean an area for the sun, and added yellow once it was dry enough. Next week we’ll be working on the flowers in the foreground.

Maroon & Emerald Class

The year 5 and 6 groups will be working on a painting based on Gustav Klimt’s Tree of Life (see bottom right). After investigating the acrylic paint and learning how to create a variety of effects, we sketched our own versions of the tree ready to transfer to our canvases next week!