The term al fresco might bring to mind 'dining outside'. It is also the term used by artists for drawing a landscape live; that is, also outside. An Italian term, in Italy, it has taken on a completely different meaning, namely 'in prison', since al fresco literally means 'in the cold'.
Painting the Seasons
Students select a place in their schoolyard that they will visit once each season to draw or paint the plants and trees as they appear in that month, and then compare them to their drawings of the same place at other times of the year. Materials and techniques used can vary with the students’ ages.
Materials
Materials
- Watercolor paints and paint brushes, colored pencils, crayons or oil pastels
- Paper suitable for painting or drawing
- One clipboard per student
Select a location in your schoolyard to act as a temporary art studio. Find a space large enough to seat the whole class, near plants with a variety of shapes, sizes and textures. Look for an area that includes deciduous trees or perennial shrubs that lose their leaves in the winter, flower in the spring, leaf out in the summer and/or change color in the fall.
Directions
- Bring the class outside to the selected “art studio” and ask each student to find a comfortable place, near a plant or tree that they find interesting
- Give each student a clipboard prepared with paper, and their own drawing or painting supplies
- Ask the students to draw what they see using whatever type of drawing or painting technique is appropriate for their age. Younger students can focus on the basics of drawing from life and capturing the colors of the season. Older students may work on more complex techniques such as detailed scientific illustrations, perspective drawings or refined watercolor techniques.
- Ask each student to create two drawings or paintings: one that focuses on a plant detail, such as a small group of leaves or flowers, and another picture that shows a wider view, with the whole plant or tree in the image. Students can also to try to represent the colors they see as accurately as possible.
- Revisit the same site and use the same drawing or painting techniques twice more during the school year, to capture seasonal changes in color and form, as they occur.
- When the third set of drawings and paintings are finished, display the artwork as an exhibit that illustrates the changing seasons on your school grounds.
Invisible Art
Does your school have a large paved area, maybe made of concrete or asphalt? Get your older students to dress it up with street art by adding invisible graffiti all over it!
The artist Dino Tomic uses a product called Rainworks Invisible Spray; it is very expensive. However, I found here that spray antiperspirant sprayed over clear paint, in the form of watered down PVA glue, will make an invisible artwork last for months.
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