John James Audubon Watercolor Birds
In this lesson, students were taught via lecture and Powerpoint presentations about the life of John James Audubon and his drawings. We covered his love of nature and his success at being published during his lifetime as one of the most successful wildlife painters of his time. We also covered the historic use of watercolor as a medium for rendering very accurate and lifelike images as well as the more contemporary use of watercolor as a free and breezy medium that lets the water dictate what happens in the image.
As a class we spent time working with watercolor "special effects" that are common in contemporary watercolor paintings. These watercolor special effects would be used later in the final project.
In the final product of this lesson the students were given a selection of black and white bird images which they were asked to draw and finally paint. We focused on drawing using basic shapes (triangles, circles, rectangles) to create realistic images of the chosen birds. Once the drawings were completed, students were to paint their images using watercolors. The black and white photos were chosen so that students did not have to worry about which color to make their bird - this was entirely up to them as the artist. They would, however, have to make sure that the watercolor painting followed the lights and darks of the original image. For instance if they chose red as the color for the birds wings, the shadows in the photo would correspond to a darker red in the painting. Students were shown how to use layers of paint in their paintings to achieve these variations on a color. For the background of the paintings students were to choose at least 1 of the watercolor special effects we studied in class and use that to create an interesting backdrop for their bird.
As a class we spent time working with watercolor "special effects" that are common in contemporary watercolor paintings. These watercolor special effects would be used later in the final project.
In the final product of this lesson the students were given a selection of black and white bird images which they were asked to draw and finally paint. We focused on drawing using basic shapes (triangles, circles, rectangles) to create realistic images of the chosen birds. Once the drawings were completed, students were to paint their images using watercolors. The black and white photos were chosen so that students did not have to worry about which color to make their bird - this was entirely up to them as the artist. They would, however, have to make sure that the watercolor painting followed the lights and darks of the original image. For instance if they chose red as the color for the birds wings, the shadows in the photo would correspond to a darker red in the painting. Students were shown how to use layers of paint in their paintings to achieve these variations on a color. For the background of the paintings students were to choose at least 1 of the watercolor special effects we studied in class and use that to create an interesting backdrop for their bird.