BEYOND THE BORDER

This project for Drawing + Painting students focuses on how color, contrast, and composition affect an artwork.

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During a presentation, still images from movies are used to show how composition affect the meaning of a scene or artwork. Students learn about the "rule of thirds", and are encouraged to use the compositional strategy in their artworks. Students viewed the artworks of Amber Moran to get an idea for how a visual artist uses color contrast and composition.

 

Students started by using the internet to research topics of interest and find references images for their drawings. Before starting on the final paper, students sketched out work in sketchbooks for practice and brainstorming. Students thoughts about how their background or environment would help accentuate the main subject of the artworks. Students also thought about materials and what would work best for their idea.

 

Student learned a variety of painting strategies to assist them in the project. Working from background to foreground or light to dark were common methods of using watercolor paint. The edges of the borders were left black and white to create contrast and  visual interest in the artworks.