lesson presentation instructions value...
TRANSCRIPT
LESSON PRESENTATION INSTRUCTIONS
VALUE
POINTILLISM
Artist: Georges Seurat – Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte
Students will paint a picture in the style of Seurat.
Time Required: 1 hour
Lesson Objectives: Artist appreciation. Demonstrate
how the use of color in different values creates depth
and light.
Materials:
8”x10” canvas board, or poster board
Removable tape
Acrylic paints
Paper plate for palette
Cotton swabs
Procedure:
1. Before class, apply tape around border of canvas board.
2. Discuss artist and artwork. Define and explain value and Pointillism.
3. Demonstrate techniques: Show how two different colors of dots placed close
together create the illusion of the color they would create when mixed; how to
change the value of a color by adding darker or lighter colors to create shadows
and light; and how the space between the dots affect the value of a single color.
4. Students will use cotton swabs dipped lightly in paint to build up a picture using
all dots. Students are encouraged to fill the entire page with color – leaving no
white spaces, up to and onto the taped edge. White paint is where white is
represented in the picture.
5. Carefully remove tape only after painting is complete.
Tips or Options:
Paper without removable tape can be used and then trimmed to get a “clean” edge.
This project could be done with oil pastels.
Students enjoy looking at the art prints with a magnifying glass.
GRADE 4 – LESSON PRESENTATION NOTES
VALUE
Pointillism: Dots of paint put close to each other, which the eye turns into blocks of
color.
Georges Seurat (1859-1891)
Young Georges Seurat lived in Paris where his
mother and uncle taught him to paint and draw.
Seurat then decided to spend the rest of his life
painting. He started a whole new way of
working called “pointillism”. He would put
different colored dots of paint next to each other
to build up a whole picture. Many summers
were spent by the sea painting the same view,
yet each painting looks very different.
A French painter who was a leader in the neo-impressionist movement of the late 19th
century, Georges Seurat is the ultimate example of the artist as scientist. He spent his life
studying color theories and the effects of different linear structures. His 500 drawings
alone establish Seurat as a great master, but he will be remembered for his technique
called pointillism, or divisionism, which uses small dots or strokes of contrasting color to
create subtle changes in form.
One of Seurat’s aims was to give a great deal of feeling to his work. He used pale
colored dots to give a sense of light and space. What do you feel when you look at this
picture?