Masterpiece Color Wheels with Phillip Martin
Lesson Plan
Learner Outcomes: .................................................... ....................................................
Color: Understand that colors can be transparent and opaque
  Understand that color schemes can be analogous, monochromatic, and complementary
   
Design: Realize that contrast in value causes eye movement over a picture
 
Line: Appreciate that line is used to represent the world around us
   
Space: Positive and negative space is used to enhance aesthetics
   
Materials: 25 number 1 brushes (fine tip)
  25 number 10 brushes (medium tip)
  25 rulers
25 pencils
  25 fine black markers
  25 art erasers
  25 sheets of bond paper practice handout sheet
  25 sheets 8 1 / 2 " x 11" drawing paper with handout sheet
  acrylic paint in primary colors as well as black and white
  1 very useful color wheel with different types of colors clearly labeled
   
Vocabulary:  

In this activity, the students continue a study of color with a famous masterpiece. First they replicate a line drawing of the masterpiece on the handout. The drawing should not be too simple nor too complex. There has to be a balance somewhere in the middle. Students must also create a border for the painting. It can be simple or complicated, geometric or repeating themes located in the masterpiece. An index key of the colors they have used must also be made.

When the drawing is complete, divide the circle into six pizza wedges. Each wedge will be painted in a different color combination choosing from: warm and cool, primary, secondary, intermediate, complementary, monochromatic, and analogous. The students must select any six and then mix the primary colors to create all the other colors. Each pie wedge is strictly one color group. Whenever possible colors should not touch each other. So, if you are working with Primary Colors, red sections should not touch red sections. Sometimes, there is no choice.

Color the practice handouts with colored pencils, both the art and the color index. As the students work on each section, they should lable it next to the wedge as well as on the color index at the bottom of the page.This will make the painting much easier when the students already know exactly what colors to paint.

Transfer the drawings onto the final circle sheet for a painting when satisfied. If you are lucky enough to have light boards for tracing, that's terrific. I send the kids to the classroom windows to trace.

VERY Helpful hint: Planning ahead is important. It works best if the student paints the same color in a wedge, the border, and the index at the same time. It is difficult to replicate the same color at a later time. It also works well if students use the lighter colors of a section before going on to the darker ones. There is less smudging and bleeding of paint if they do one wedge at a time. Do not apply wet paint next to another area with wet paint. They will bleed together.

Another Helpful hint: Blue and Red make Purple. Well, they are supposed to make Purple!. However, a good Purple is not easy to create. I cheat. I have students use a Red-Violet with Blue to get a very, very Barney Purple.

When the projects are completed, outline everything with a black marker. Depending on their painting ablitilies, some painting can be outlined with fine markers and others will need fatter markers. Some kids usually need help with outlining curves or the wedges.

Copyright 2000, revised 2012 by Phillip Martin All rights reserved.