Painting with Impressionism - "After Monet" • TeachKidsArt

We began our lesson by looking at examples of Monet’s paintings in an old Monet art calendar. I chose his painting of Antibes for us to “copy” and hung it up where everyone could see it. Then I explained to my 1st graders that art students sometimes copy a famous painting in order to learn from it, and that it’s okay to do that as long as you give the original artist proper credit. I had each student begin by writing their name on the back of their paper with the words “After Monet”. This way, 100 years from now, no one will find their painting and think it was Monet who copied them! ;-)

Materials:

9″x12″ white construction paper
Alphacolor “Biggie” Tempera Cake set
water and brush
examples of Monet paintings, such as Antibes

Directions:

1. Begin by painting the water along the bottom of your paper. Use the side of your brush to dab color into that section. Try to use 3 or 4 different colors that Monet used in his water, such as light blue, dark blue, purple and green. Leave a little space between your dabs of any one color so they don’t just blend together and create a solid blob!

2. Next add the tree on the right side. Remember to use the side of your brush to dab colors onto your paper – no lines!

3. Then use dabs of paint to add the city, the mountain, and finally the sky. Remember to use only the side of your brush and to paint dabs only! Use a variety of colors in each section. Keep looking at Monet’s painting to see how many colors he used!

I love how “impressionistic” my 1st graders paintings look, and each one is so unique – even though they were all “copying” the same painting! The Alphacolor “Biggie” Tempera Cakes are great for this project – the colors are vivid and not chalky like other tempera cakes can be. And the cake form makes mixing a variety of colors quick and easy!