Van Gogh Inspired Sunflowers for 2nd and 4th Graders
This week I'd like to share some of second grade's sunflowers. Normally, I would teach van Gogh's Sunflowers using some of his most popular works. This year, though, I've only had my second graders for about three months. So, I decided to focus on this lesser known sunflower work by van Gogh.
The Garden with Sunflower, 1887, Vincent Van Gogh, public domain
Discussing Vincent van Gogh’s Art
We discussed the differences in the more popular sunflowers and this one. I wanted them to focus on one flower for the art-making. I felt that, on the whole, we weren't yet ready for all of the overlapping it would take to create a vase with several.
Creating van Gogh-Inspired Sunflower Art with 2nd Graders
We decided to use brighter colors than van Gogh's single sunflower. Their favorite part has been the bit of silver glitter tempera they layer into the background. Kids love anything with glitter. We used the double-loading brush technique. That means we dipped the brush into more than one color to paint.
For instance, dipping in red and yellow then painting will deliver a range of shades from red to orange to yellow. I modeled how to paint with dashes, instead of the long brush strokes they are used to. This is hard for them. I'm asking them to do something that is just about the complete opposite of what they have been taught previously. So, it takes a lot of encouragement on my end. And modeling.
I've modeled this in every format that I can think of. I've used the marker board to draw the dashes that would represent the brush strokes. I've done it on paper with small groups. I've videoed myself doing it. On and on. Yes, lots of modeling. It is totally worth it though. I love how these are turning out!
Creating van Gogh-Inspired Art with 4th Graders
Last year, I needed something for my fourth graders to do that could be finished quickly. We did this same lesson. I definitely like this lesson for second graders better than for fourth graders. However, it did work well as something that could be finished quickly for the fourth graders.
I thought I'd show some of the fourth graders' work here too. You can see a difference in the skill level, I think. When I did this with fourth grade, I used a video from Art with Joy. I only showed the very first part on how to draw the sunflower. I think I'd like to make my own "how to draw" video for this lesson in the near future (or at least by the next time I teach this).
Oh, and I have a word of advice for drawing these: Let the students practice on scratch paper first. They probably have preconceived ideas about how to draw flowers. You will have to give them time to move past those!
Do this project in your classroom!
To do this art project in your classroom, you’ll need:
tempera paint
Brush
cups of water
white tagboard
Pencil
Grab your favorite Vincent van Gogh paintings for showing, class discussion, and modeling. Take the opportunity to discuss different art forms and styles. Remember to have them practice on another piece of paper if you’d like.
Tell me… did you do this project with your students? Let me know in the comments below!
