As we said at the end of last week's exhibition, we are only doing 5 more challenges, ending with a very special 20th challenge! We hope you can join us on these last 5 challenges as we'll be heading for some exciting places. Starting this week with...
Into The Wild
We've called it that, as we are heading back to the animal kingdom. Cats, dogs & birds have all had their own challenges, so it's time to devote one to all the other creatures out there - from wild animals to minibeasts, amphibians, reptiles and creatures under the sea.
You can choose any animal/creature you want as your subject, BUT you need to either:
- depict it in its natural habitat as your background
- create your own background
BUT BACKGROUND IS KEY!
This week we are looking for a full piece of art,
brimming with all your talent and creativity!
First let's have a quick look at our key artist this week,
Henri Rousseau.
This painting is probably his most famous - it is called Surprised!
- What might have surprised the tiger?
- What is the weather like? How do you know?
- Is there anything that strikes you as strange or out of place in this painting?
When lockdown finally ends and galleries open up once more you can go to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square to see the original Surprised! by Rousseau - it is worth millions, as it is one of the most famous paintings in the world.
Rousseau pretended he’d been to a jungle/rainforest, but he hadn’t. He’d seen tigers in books (but if you look carefully he has got the tail wrong in Surprised!) and most of the plants he painted he saw in the botanical gardens in Paris. These would never grow in a jungle. People didn't like his art work when he first started painting (in the 1800’s) and thought it ‘childlike’.... and now his work is priceless.
Here are a few more examples:
Again his backgrounds don't really represent real rainforests, but they are so full of different shades of green that it doesn't matter - he has certainly taken us Into The Wild.
Other great artists to investigate:
Rosina Becker do Valle(a Brazilian artist whose work focuses on the forests and folk stories of her country.)
Odile Kidd (a Zimbabwean artist who paints the areas wild life)
Although not known for his pictures of wildlife Andy Warhol did a series of giant screenprints depicting some endangered animals.
If you decide to do a jungle inspired piece of art, think about using mixed media/collage - this could give you a very effective background for your animal. You could use natural or man-made materials for this. These pieces of artwork were based on Rousseau's Surprised!
Staying in the rainforest, snakes and chameleons often make interesting colourful sujects. You could aim to make them really stand out against your background, or perhaps try and camouflage them a little more...
The pictures above were created in a variety of ways: paint, oil pastels, colouring pencils and a paint wash....the possibilities are endless. But LOOK AT HOW THE WHOLE PAGE IS FILLED!
Giraffes also make great subjects for art.
What is particularly effective about these examples is that backgrounds really make the giraffes stand out. Remember you don't have to draw the whole animal. These giraffe drawings work so well because their necks and heads dominate the picture.
If you wanted to do a more abstract background to your picture the last giraffe example shows a simple effective way to do this.
Of course you may want to go a lot more abstract in colours for your chosen creature...
As so many varied colours are being used on the creatures, a plain dark background works best to really make these stand out.
The lions are all very similiar, but you can get a different effect according to where you place it on your paper. Half or partial faces can be as effective as a full face.
Alternatively, you could make your background the real star of the show...
Silhouette pictures with a bold sunrise/sunset background work really well. You can create the backgrounds in a variety of ways from paint, colouring pencils, pastels to collage - really aiming to get those great warm colours. After that you can draw on simple silhouettes of your chosen animal, (the size will depend on how near or far away they are from you....PERSPECTIVE AGAIN!) or cut them out in black paper (this is trickier).
Here are some animals for you to practise drawing - you may or may not choose to use them in your final piece of art.
We haven't yet touched on the world of minibeasts and all the creatures under the sea, but many of the things we have discussed above can apply to them too. DON'T FORGET YOUR BACKGROUND!!
And as for under the sea... there is so much to explore!
Wherever you end up make sure you go Into The Wild....we are really looking forward to seeing all your wonderful, woolly, wicked, wandering WILD ANIMALS!
When you have finished your artwork, please take a photo of it and send it by
Friday 10th July to:
No comments:
Post a Comment