Adventures in Italy 6: Lemon Art
Today we will be using the power of our eye sight to draw and paint our own original masterpiece of fruit! Use the images of lemons included in your lesson plan of the Adventures in Italy #6, as our inspiration today to create a still-life painting with Oil Pastels. Feel free to use a real bowl of lemons at home as well. Use the included 7 Elements of Art Booklet, from The Masterpiece Alphabet, to go over the elements needed for this art project. Please share your beautiful Lemon Masterpieces with us on Instagram by tagging us!
SUGGESTED BOOKS:
We will be using the Artist Cezanne, from France, as our inspiration today, because he painted Fruit, specifically Apples. Let’s take what we learned from him and the books recommend to read today, and create our own beautiful lemons!
Cezanne and the Apple Boy by Laurence Anholt
Paul Cezanne- Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists by Mike Venezia
Cezanne’s Parrot by Amy Gulielmo
Art Appreciation: Lemon Still Life Paintings + Art Project
Many artists have created still-life paintings, and it is a fun project to practice. When drawing and painting still-life's we can put to use the 7 Elements of Art! Let's learn about Space, Value, and Perspective before we jump into this project.
The Element of Space refers to the space around an object. It consists of both negative and positive space. Take a look at this picture to the right, the negative space is the background. The positive space is of the bowl with lemons. Perspective is all about your veiw point of an object, so depending on the angle of your view point, your perspective of an object is changed. Use the included images for inspiration today, if you do not have any lemons to observe.
Before we start the project, I wanted to add a few more obervation options for you of Fruit Still Life Paintings from a few more vairous Artists:
The Lemon Paintings by Bartolomeo Bimbi, Italian Cultural Heritage, 1715, Italy.
Still Life with Lemons on a Plate - Vincent Van Gough 1887 Oil, Canvas, Paris France, Post-Impressionism
Still Life The Lemon - Edouard Manet, 1880 Oil, Canvas, Paris France, Realism
Art Supplies:
Bowl of Lemons
Oil Pastels
Pencil + Eraser
Art Paper
Water-based Polycrylic Seal - Optional (this helps to seal your layers of Oil Pastels)
Art Project Videos for Inspiration today:
If you are new to using Oil Pastels, learning the Rule of 3’s can be a good place to start. Watch this video if you would like to cover that with your students.
Steps:
Using your pencil, make a sketch of your fruit, bowl, table, and background, etc. Be aware of the negative and positive spaces. When you are happy with your overall outline, take your oil pastels and add color to your fruit, leaves, bowl, etc. If you have siblings also working on this project, stop and observe the different perspectives each of you may have.
Remember you can add more depth and perceived dimension by layering a few different hues or colors on top of each other. Keep an eye on your pressure, as you can pressing down harder with your oil pastels to add more dimension and value. Try pairing 3 colors that work well together, using the Rule of 3’s. Watch the video above to learn more about that.
Follow the lead of your child, and work with their abilities, and interests. When complete, hang to display, and then place into your Masterpiece Scrapbook.