Lesson 52 - Sunset Watercolor

This lesson will be done in two sections, on two different days. For the first part of our lesson we talked about sunsets; specifically the different colors present in sunsets and the contrast between the bright sky colors and the darkness of land and other objects juxtaposed against the sky. We also looked at many pictures of sunsets and noticed that there are many more colors present than just orange or red, from light to dark, and the colors become brighter when reflected in water (as in an ocean).

The first thing we did was figure out how many colors were in pictures of the sunsets we saw. The children were able to pick out many colors, and they also noticed that some colors were blended together from two or more colors (red and white make pink; red and blue make purple, etc).

Next the children were allowed to practice painting and blending watercolors on plain paper. We used watercolors in a tube for our first attempt. Since many children are new and have not yet experienced watercolor, we went over the correct way to use the paint. We talked about wetting the brush before adding paint to it, and then only adding a bit of paint at a time. We also went over washing and drying the brush between painting with different colors.

After practicing with wet brush on dry paper, the children had a second chance to practice with dry watercolor cakes on wet paper. To do this, we wet down a piece of plain paper with a spray bottle filled with water. Then we added bits of grated dry “cake” (or solid) watercolor paint to the wet paper. The children then used their brushes to move the grated bits of watercolor paint around the paper. Immediately they were able to see the difference between the tube watercolor paint and the dry caked paint. They noticed the dry paint on wet paper was very very light, almost invisible in contrast to the tube watercolor paint which was more vibrant in color. When they were done practicing with this second type of watercolor, we went on to the final attempt.

I gave each child a sheet of watercolor paper, which is thicker than regular paper and allows maximum absorption of the paint. I then showed the children how to “stripe” the watercolors on the paper so it creates a layered look and blends the different colors together. The children learned that you don’t need much color to create the desired effect; in fact the less paint you use, the better it looks.

Everyone was then encouraged to paint their watercolor sky. For the most part the children tried to mimic the procedure they were shown, although some of the younger children painted their sky enthusiastically, creating the sky in their own unique way. When the artists were done, we put the papers out to dry.

These will be used in our next lesson to create the background for our dark city-scape/

nature-scape. I am very pleased with the progress all the children made by learning the proper way to paint with watercolors, and also the opportunity they had to experiment with different types of watercolor paints. The pictures tell the story. We have many talented artists in the class.