Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Picasso Blue Portraits

First graders learned about Pablo Picasso and his artwork.  We started by reading the book "Just Behave Pablo Picasso," by Jonah Winter.  I can't say enough good things about this book!  Sometimes even children's art books can be a little too much for first grade but this book did a great job of talking about Picasso's life in a way that my kids could understand.  It also provided grade level appropriate imagery that highlight the most famous works and periods in Picasso's life.  I will be buying this book for my art room library! 

The key facts we focused on for Pablo Picasso was the fact that he painted blue paintings when he was sad.  He painted rose colored paintings when he became happy again.  And, he was inspired by African masks when he started painting masklike faces.  We used 4 different values of blue for this project to remind us of Picasso's blue period.  We also created faces that look sort of like masks, in the style of Picasso.  Great job 1st grade!

Learning Goal: I can...
- Tell about Pablo Picasso
- Create a collage
- Explain what value is (the lightness or darkness of a color)
- Create texture in paint (by scratching into the wet paint)
- Use contrasting values to help facial features show up








6 comments:

  1. Love this take on Picasso - a little bit different! I've enjoyed exploring your blog & will be following with interest!
    :)Elizabeth
    paintersofdreams.blogspot.com

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  2. These are really neat. I love, in particular, how you can use so many different materials and techniques in each then combine them to make a whole. I'm thinking it might be neat to push that even further--maybe incorporate some print-making, or paste-paint. Anyway, the idea is great, and I have the book on reserve at the library now! Thanks.

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  3. I would love to hear more about how you did it and how long it took to do. Was this done over several days? I have an hour long class I do and want to find something that will fit into that time period. Love this.

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  4. I have 55 minute classes and I know it took more than one class because the paint would have needed to dry before starting on cutting the paper. I believe we took 2 classes to layer our collages together after creating textured paintings.

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  5. Is there a place on your blog you list materials and steps for this project? I'm a homeschool mom teaching my children about Picasso and loved this idea!
    Thanks in advance!

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    Replies
    1. We used tempera paint: light and dark blue. We added white to the blues so that we had 4 different values of blue to paint onto paper. We let the papers dry and then cut them into the shapes we needed.

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