Painting Like an Impressionist

Teacher: Mae Eubanks-Love
School: Flower High School
Title: Painting Like an Impressionist
Suggested Grade Level: High School
Subject: Fine Arts
Time: 35 minutes

Index
Background
Objectives
Materials
Procedure
Assessment
State Goals and Chicago Academic Standards

Background
The basic and most steadfast principle of the Impressionist movement is that each work of art is based on the artist’s immediate visual impression of a scene at a particular time of day or year or in a particular type of weather. In order to capture changing reflections and shadows, Impressionist artists often painted the same scene or landscape over and over in different conditions. Each Impressionist’s work is a study of light and atmosphere and the play of reflections and color.

Objectives
Demonstrate knowledge of the Impressionist style by showing complementary colors, a variety of types of brushstrokes, and a specific time of day or weather condition.

Materials
Tempera paint in complementary colors and white
Paint brushes in different sizes
Cups of water
9” x 12” construction paper (not black)

Procedure
1. Discuss Impressionism with students. Show examples of works by artists who used this technique, e.g. Monet, Renoir, Morisot, Degas.
2. Ask students to describe the lines, shapes, and colors they see. Discuss the use of dot, dabs, and swirls in the images. Ask students to note the specific time or type of weather represented in each example.
3. Demonstrate how to create this kind of image using complementary colors and a variety of brushstrokes.
4. Students then try to imitate the technique in their own painting, with the teacher monitoring to make sure they are following the proper technique. If students find they do not like the way that their dots, dabs, and swirls blended together they can wait for that portion to dry then paint over it. This technique of painting requires the use of a lot of paint, therefore the paper will become very stiff when dry.
5. When students complete their paintings, they will need to place them in a designated drying area. The paintings will need several hours to dry completely.

Assessment
Have students describe their works of art. Make sure they discuss what colors they used and how they applied them to the paper, the types of brushstrokes they employed, and the time of day they depicted. Did they use complementary colors? Did they use short dots and dabs of paint to make shapes? Did they paint a specific time of day?

State Goals and Chicago Academic Standards

Fine Arts
State Goal 26/Chicago Academic Standard A
Chicago Framework Statement 5
State Goal 26/Chicago Academic Standard B
Chicago Framework Statement 5