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!

We’re excited to be starting the new half term, which will focus on painting! We’ll be using a variety of different paints over the course of seven weeks, ending with a masterpiece on canvas. 

This week was all about learning how to vary our brush strokes. We used a selection of brushes ranging from very thin ones (2mm) to wider ones (16mm), and ready mixed paint. We were reminded of the importance of cleaning our brushes in between colours, to avoid the paints becoming ‘muddy’. We practised various brush strokes in our sketchbooks, before creating a large scale group painting  utilising our different brushes. We then worked on individual paintings, the challenge being to incorporate as many different brush strokes as we could. We had some very vibrant results!

Maroon & Turquoise Class

Amber & Magenta Class

Violet Class

Emerald Class