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Colorful Still Life

Colorful Still Life

Still life painting has been around since ancient Egyptian and Roman times. Students will create an original still life using bold, delineated colors and seasonal objects.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

Steps

  • Step 1

    Still life (from the Dutch "Stilleven") is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate objects arranged in a unique and artistic way. Have students view images of some famous still life paintings such as "Jug, Curtain and Fruit Bowl" by Paul Cézanne, "Violin and Candlestick" by Georges Braque, or "Sunflowers" by Vincent van Gogh. Then ask them to choose a subject for their own still life. Perhaps it's an autumn harvest or fruits and veggies displayed in a bowl or on a table.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to sketch a draft of the scene which they will use as a guide for their art. To delineate the objects they will first mix black watercolor paint into glue and use this mixture to draw the outlines of the objects.

  • Step 3

    When the glue is dry they can fill in the black outlines using watercolors or crayons. Encourage students to use bold, bright colors to create a striking visual work of art.

Standards

ARTS: Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches.

ARTS: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

Adaptations

Color is an essential element in art, and different colors convey different moods and emotions. Have students explore their color associations. For example, how does blue make each child feel? Honor the variations in reactions to colors and encourage new vocabulary to describe calm, envy, joy, or other feelings.

Ask students to draw a simple scene using very bright, bold, and well delineated colors. Then ask them to create the same scene using muted colors and a softer contrast. How did the color vibrancy change the mood? Why might the scenes seem different?