Here are some photos from our third annual Winter Exhibition! It was lovely to see so many of our artists and their families at the Private View on Friday evening, and on the Saturday morning too. Thank you to everyone who came along- the students have worked really hard this term and it was a lovely way to round off the year!
We look forward to seeing you all again in January- Happy Christmas!
Our classes have been finishing off their canvases this week ready for our Winter Exhibition! We each used Posca pens to add detail to our work. The results looked brilliant!
Georgia Gray inspired concentric circle designs.
Martina Nehrling inspired straight line patterns.
Starla Halfmann inspired cacti.
Our classes have all been continuing with their masterpieces for our exhibition this week!
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists are creating artwork inspired by Georgia Gray, whose paintings we investigated last week. We used the skills we practised in our sketchbooks to paint the first layer of circles onto their canvases, using acrylic paint. We made good progress!
Our year 3 and 4 artists painted the backgrounds to their Martina Nehrling-inspired abstract pieces. We drew wavy guidelines, then used small brushes and acrylic paint to fill in the shapes we’d created. Next week we’ll be adding finer details.
Our year 5 and 6 artists sketched out their Starla Halfmann-inspired cactus compositions onto canvas and then painted the basic shapes using acrylic paint. We worked on blending colours as we painted and achieving the impasto effect using thick paint. Next week we’ll add in the fine details to finish off our masterpieces!
Each class started their final project this week! We’ll be producing masterpieces on canvas for our Winter Exhibition (more details about this to come!), and each year group will be inspired by a different artist.
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists have been investigating the work of Australian artist Georgia Gray (see examples below). We talked about the shapes and colours in her abstract paintings, and drew similarities with the traditional Aboriginal work of Minnie Pwerle (see week 4). We practised painting concentric circle designs in our sketchbooks, then used Posca pens to recreate the designs onto pebbles.
Our year 3 and 4 artists looked at the colourful paintings of Martina Nehrling (see examples). We warmed up by using Sharpies to recreate some of her patterns, which are constructed from lots of short, straight lines. We then moved on to paint- we started with primary colours and mixed further colours to use in our work.
Our year 5 and 6 artists are looking at the work of Texas based artist Starla Halfmann for inspiration (see examples). We sketched cacti from photographic reference, then drew some thumbnail sketches of possible compositions. Once we’d chosen one we drew it at full size and practised some acrylic painting techniques.
This week, our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists became inventors! We used a variety of materials to build our own drawing and painting tools, then tested them using Brusho ink. We got some really interesting results!
Our year 3 and 4 artists invented some drawing and painting tools too!
This week, Violet class took part in a slime workshop run by one of our Arts Award students! The student is working towards her Bronze level award, part of which involves sharing her creative skills. Violet class really enjoyed learning how to make two different kinds of slime, which was messy but a lot of fun!
Our year 5 and 6 artists experimented with mark making using Quink ink, both neat and with varying amounts of dilution. We then used small amounts of bleach with fine brushes to paint on top of the ink- we got some really interesting results!
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 students were inspired by Aboriginal artist Minnie Pwerle this week (see examples!) We discussed the different patterns we could see in her abstract paintings, drawing them into our sketchbooks. We then painted our own patterns inspired by Pwerle’s work, building on our primary and secondary colour mixing skills from last week.
Our year 3 and 4 artists investigated pattern this week. We warmed up by taking turns to invent a repeating pattern for everyone to copy, and practised using fineliners to draw very detailed combinations of shapes. We then used the collection of patterns as a starting point to add pattern to our Brusho spirals from last week, using both fineliners and gel pens. It was a very different way of working to last week, and required a lot of concentration!
Our year 5 and 6 artists completed their animal portraits inspired by US based pop artist Dean Russo this week. We added Brusho ink to the animal and the background, allowing the ink to bleed into the surrounding colours to get a patchwork effect. We then used Posca pens to add elements of pattern. The results looked brilliant!
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists had a go at swipe art this week! We talked about colour theory, discussing the primary and secondary colours, and practised the technique in our sketchbooks. We then used primary colours to create some amazing textures and patterns by swiping the paint across the paper using a small piece of mountboard. The results were really interesting!
Our year 3 and 4 artists investigated colour mixing using Brusho ink. We practised the watercolour techniques of wet-on-dry and wet-on-wet painting, and experimented with different ways to combine colours. We then used these skills to create colourful spiral patterns.
Our year 5 and 6 artists investigated the work of Brooklyn based pop artist Dean Russo (see examples below). We chose an animal to work with for our own interpretations and spent some time sketching them out to get the size and composition correct. We then drew our animal portraits onto heavyweight cartridge paper and drew over them with marker pens. Next week we’ll be working on the colour stage!
This week, each class investigated the work of US based artist Julie Wolfe. Her work tells stories through photographs, drawings, sculptural structures, large abstract paintings and wall installations. We looked in particular at her installations featuring deconstructed books (see photo), discussed the colours, shapes and compositions we could see, and produced our own interpretations.
We were excited to begin the new term this week! Our focus this term is on drawing and painting. This week, we created front covers to personalise our sketchbooks, with some great results!
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists warmed up by drawing lots of different facial expressions, using mirrors to help. We took turns to suggest an emotion, then tried showing that emotion in the mirror before drawing it in our sketchbooks. We then drew a self portrait in marker pen. We added hair using blow painting, which was great fun!
Our year 3 and 4 artists created self portraits inspired by Paul Klee. We learned about the proportions of a face and practised in our sketchbooks before drawing out our self portrait onto A4 paper using construction lines to guide us. We went over our drawings in black marker pen, then erased the pencil lines, after which we used tissue paper squares to add a collage element.
Our year 5 and 6 artists also warmed up by practising using construction lines to help with proportions of the face. We drew out our self portraits, adding colour using Brusho paints. We then added words around the outside to describe our personalities. The results looked great!
Artivity 