JAPANESE WATERCOLOR LANDSCAPE

Objective: to learn about painting styles of Japanese artists, to understand atmospheric perspective, to use a variety of watercolor techniques to create a unified landscape, to experiment with stamping and embossing

Time frame: 4-6 class times

Materials: 8x24 white watercolor paper, variety of paint brush sizes, watercolors, water containers, stamps, stamp pads, embossing powder, heat tool, salt, paper towels, plastic wrap, markers

Standards: ART.VA.I.HS.1, ART.VA.I.HS.2, ART.VA.I.HS.3, ART.VA.I.HS.5, ART.VA.II.HS.1, ART.VA.II.HS.2, ART.VA.II.HS.3, ART.VA.II.HS.4, ART.VA.II.HS.5, ART.VA.IV.HS.1, ART.VA.IV.HS.2, ART.VA.IV.HS.4

Procedures: Students will begin by lightly drawing a ¼ inch border around the edge of a piece of 8x24 watercolor paper. Within the border, they will create a light sketch of a simple landscape, including water, layers of hills/mountains, details for the sky, like clouds. Students will then use at least four of the watercolor techniques previously learned to paint the landscape. Once painting is dry, the silhouette of a tree will be painted using a Japanese Sumi brush with black ink. To complete the design, students will use oriental symbol stamps, embossing power, and a heat tool to create a raised design in the lower corner of the painting, similar to designs found on paintings by Japanese artists.

Vocabulary: wet on wet, wet on dry, salt, plastic wrap lift, marker bleed, paper towel lift, blend, Hokusai, Hiroshige, landscape, stamping, embossing, atmospheric perspective

Assessment: Have students accurately created a landscape that shows layers of mountains going off into the distance using atmospheric perspective; have students successfully used the watercolor techniques introduced to accent their landscape paintings?