Year 5/6: Still Life Paintings
Over this half-term, the Year 5/6s will be learning about still life paintings and taking their inspiration from Giorgio Morandi, a 20th Century Italian painter and printmaker who created more than 1,300 calm and contemplative still life paintings in oil.
Morandi’s paintings are deceptively simple and this project involves a consideration of size, symmetry, angle and composition. When planning their artwork, the children worked both in sketchbooks and on A4 whiteboards, making it easier for them to adjust their drawings:
They had a variety of bottles, jars and pots to observe and were encouraged to use their rulers not only to draw straight lines but also to check symmetry and angle.
The children helped one another to improve their work:
Some used lightly drawn frames and lines of symmetry to help them achieve an accurate drawing.
Here are some of the drawings from the pupils' sketchbooks:
In the second lesson, the pupils evaluated and improved their work before making their final drawing on black paper. It was quite tricky to see the pencil marks as they worked but they did a great job.
Here are some of the finished drawings, enhanced so that the pencil marks can be seen:
Next week, we will be practising mixing paint and adding colour to our still life pictures.