WATERCOLOR LEAVES

LESSON PRESENTATION INSTRUCTIONS

VALUE 

WATERCOLOR LEAVES

Lesson Objectives:  Students will use different watercolor techniques to make a leaf design. 

Artist: Laura Tasheiko, Fall Leaves #22 (available online)

Time Required: 1 hour

Materials:                                                                               

Watercolor paper taped to cardboard

Pencils

Paintbrushes: thin and regular

1-2 leaves

Watercolors

Watercolor pencils

Water and cups

Paper towels

Tissue

Presentation:

Talk about the shape of leaves and their structure: veins, stems. Talk about the different colors and their value changes, the way one color transitions into another. Discuss overlapping.

Procedure:

1. Pass out watercolor paper. Write names on blue tape.
2. Take a leaf and arrange it in the corner of the paper. Trace it with a tin sketchy line.
3. Remove the leaf and re-position it, slightly overlapping the 1^st leaf. Keep doing this until you have 6-8 leaves on the paper.
4. With the regular-sized brush and lots of water, select a color and start painting in the background. Keep the paper inside the leaves dry.
5. Fill in each sketched outline with pencil lines representing the veins.
6. With the watercolor pencils, color the veins and the color patches on the leaf.
7. Fill in all the leaves.
8. With clear water, paint over each leaf to blend the watercolor pencils.
9. Sprinkle salt over the painting while still wet.