ART Value and Drawing: Stage 1 Desired Results

Established Goals

Students will:
- Create 2 painting
of the same still
life, but they are
restricted to using
2 different colours
schemes to
produce two
different moods.
-Experiment with
different methods
of interacting with
canvas and paint.
-Understand the
formal ideas of
the abstract
expressionists.
-Discuss, explain
and participate
with the idea of
playing with art.

TRANSFER GOAL

Students will explore and understand the importance of the abstract expressionist movement through
artist such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman
Students will be able to create different mood within their work through colour schemes.
MEANING
Enduring Understandings:

Essential Questions:

Students will understand that

Students will keep considering

U1 Art is created with the experiences, mood and

personality of the artist.

Q 1 What is abstract expressionism?

U2 The making of the art can be just as important

as the artwork itself
U3 Colour schemes express different moods to
the viewer.

Q2 How do the abstract expressionist make

their art?
Q3 What does colour do to our art?
Q4 What is important to the abstract
expressionists?
Q5 Why is abstract art important?
Q6 What is play in art?

ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

Students will know

Students will be skilled at

Drawings [Communicate]

Drawings [ Articulate and Evaluate]:

A. The Subjective perception of the individual

student affects the way he/she expresses action
and direction.

A. Making comparisons about mood and

feeling between ones own works and works
by other students is part of learning to talk
about art.

B. Mood and feeling as perceived by the individual

student can be expressed in colour drawings.

Compositions [Components 1]:

Compositions [Organizations]:
A. The same composition, when executed
with different colour schemes,
communicates a different mood or feeling

A. Manipulation of colour emphasis can help

express mood in two-dimensional compositions.

STAGE 2 Evidence
Evaluative Criteria
Performance is judged in terms of -

Critique

Assessment Evidence
Students will need to show their learning by: Showcasing their paintings in a
final critique and explain the elements involved.

Sketchbook

Transfer Task:

Observations

Learning will be demonstrated through questioning the exploration of abstract

expressionism and the development of a painting that produces an expression of the
artist. These final projects are meant to be personal and demonstrating art as an outlet as
well as a serious piece of work.

Questioning
Abstract Expressionist
Painting
Class Critique

Rational:
Art, especially abstract art, is constantly criticized through the vast amount of viewers expressing
confusion towards these works. This becomes an unfair process to both the artists and the viewers. As
such it is important to provide future artist and possible art lovers with the experiences and tools
necessary to interact with art to develop fair and informed opinions about modern art. Since these students
are fairly young, providing them with the necessary art viewing skills will allow them to make better and
stronger judgements about their own work before deeming art to need to be beautiful before needing
sublime. This unit also allows for the students to become highly engaged with a unique method of art
creation, gesture painting, in an attempt to allow the subconscious of the artist to break free become a part
of the artists work.
Unit Summary
This unit combines the concepts of the abstract expressionists with the intentions of colour
theory, specifically colour schemes creating mood and feelings. This unit is built around exposing the
students the various techniques explored by the abstracts expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock, Barnett
Newman, and Mark Rothko, in an attempt to reach the students subconscious and allow them enter the
zone where art is created from impulse and reaction in an attempt to fully expose raw emotion and
feelings from the artist. The art history given in this unit will challenge students to think about what they
are trying to achieve with their artwork and go beyond the idea of throwing paint at a canvas as well as
providing them with the tools in order to interact and view abstract art through Immanuel Kants theories
of art and play.

Lesson 1 Summary:
The first lesson focuses on the concepts of colour schemes providing an image with different
moods or feelings. Students look towards art history and examples of modern design as key
demonstrators that appropriate these concepts for their visual product. Once students are ready, they will
then explore the painting medium and attempt to paint a still-life in a mono-chromatic painting. Through
this limitation they are challenged to develop new ways to communicate the still life while providing
them with the opportunity to compare and contrast with their peers about the different moods that each of
their painting provides.

Lesson 2 Summary:
Taking the knowledge gained from the first lesson, the second lesson builds on and expands the
concepts by providing the students with more art history that is more focused on the abstract
expressionism colour fields. This provides the students with a direct interaction with colour and colour
schemes as they attempt to create a mood or feeling that they desire to produce. Colour fields introduce
the students to a newer method of painting and mixing of paint that they may not have been exposed to
beforehand and will allowing them to take a step into abstract art. This can be exciting and new for
students of this age and should be reminded to focus and allow them to reach the zone. Students will
experiment with the technique and develop and understanding of how mood and feelings can be
expressed through art.

Lesson 3 Summary:
The final lesson allows students to explore a different technique of abstract expressionism,
gesture painting or also known as action painting. Students will observe the works of Jackson Pollock and
reflect on the ideas and concepts discussed in previous lesson about mood and feelings. Students will
work in small groups and will cooperatively create a gesture painting that expresses a mood or feeling
that they group desires to focus upon. The artwork will have a specific colour scheme and to discuss their
ideas in a class critique.
Method of Evaluation (Including Differentiation):
There will be a lot of assessment will be done through observation, group discussions and the
final product. This will encourage students to discuss and talk about the art that they are viewing, whether
it is art history or in the art of their peers. Students will also have the opportunity for formative
assessment through reflective interaction between themselves and their peers to provide them with more
understanding of the content that they are interacting with. The final project will be marked with a rubric
that will be scored on: concepts, invention, craftsmanship and effort with 5 points in each of the
categories. For those students that have difficulty with creating a strong colour scheme will be allowed to
focus specifically on a single and the interaction of that single colour within their work. Whereas those
students clearly understand the concepts provided will be challenge to provide colour schemes that are
more complex colour arrangement in an attempt to create a certain mood or feeling. Based on the nature
of the assignment students will be able to help one another and work together in order to achieve the
challenge of the assignments.

Lesson 1 Grade 9
GLOs
SLOs
Drawings [Communicate]
B. Mood and feeling as perceived by the individual student can be expressed in colour drawings.
Compositions [Components 1]:
A. Manipulation of colour emphasis can help express mood in two-dimensional compositions.
Compositions [Organizations]:
A. The same composition, when executed with different colour schemes, communicates a different
mood or feeling
Drawings [Articulate and Evaluate]:
A. Making comparisons about mood and feeling between ones own works and works by other students
is part of learning to talk about art.

Learning Objectives
Students will
1. Discuss the different moods and effects that colour schemes can have on an image or artwork.
2. Create a painting that has a distinct colour scheme.
3. Discuss their own feeling and mood and compare that to the artwork that they have created.
Resources Consulted
Alberta Education
Drawing on the right side of the brain, Betty Edwards
Materials
Still life Pictures
Sketchbook Assignment Monochromatic -Still life
Paints
Bushes
Painting paper
Water containers
Paper towel
Teaching Strategies
Lecture, large group discussion, demonstration, hands on activity.
Introduction
Ask:
-What is colour?
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-How do we see colour?

-Beyond just different colour, what else is perceived when viewing different colours?
Discuss Yves Klein, an artist that was distinctly interested in the colour blue. So much so that it became
branded as Yves Klein Blue.
What does this remind you of?
Where else do you notice specific colours being used repetitively?
Why might a company use a specific colour to represent them?
What does colour express?
How does colour choice convey a message to the viewer?
Colour plays an important role in art
creation. Depending on the colour
scheme an artist chooses, the
resulting art work can express a
different mood or feeling.
Companies and designers use this
information to produce products that
will be more appealing to customers.
Can anyone recognize this colour?
What could the colour red express to
customers?
What company uses this colour?
Would you get the same feeling if it
was a dark blue? Why not?
Colours feel different. We split colours into two different
categories; Warm and Cool. Warm colours are vivid and
energetic, and tend to advance in space while cool colours give an
impression of calm, and create a soothing impression. Whites,
blacks and grays and considered neutral.
How can we use this information about colours to our advantage?
Why would it be purposeful for us to choose specific colour
schemes for our artwork?

Body
Painting mono-chromatically allows for the students to focus on colour and that their colour choice
impacts how the image resonates. Start with a demonstration drawing out the image and placing washes
on the image. Inform them that the thicker the paint that they use the darker it will appear and that the size
of the brush will affect how long the image will take. Creating the image through washes and layers is the
key to making a successful painting.
Sketchbook Assignment
-Students will each receive a copy of the sketchbook assignment
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-The assignment is meant to challenge the students to create a mono chromatic still life.
Students should draw out the still life before painting the image, this will be done free hand.
-The painting will then be done in a single colour of the students choice.
-Once the students have finished their painting they will then answer questions about their painting:
What was the most successful part about your painting?
What was the most challenging part about your painting experience?
How could your work be improved?
What do you think the colour you choose does to your artwork?
Did you enjoy working mono-chromatically? Why or why not?
At the end of the class, have the students clean all the brushes used for painting and other clean up
procedures.
Conclusion
-Once students have completed their paintings they will then be partnered up.
-Students will discuss their colour choices and the effects that the colour choices play in the painting.
Students should discuss the mood and feeling brought by the colours within the images.
-Pairs will answer together:
How did your mood or feelings affect your art making?
Do you feel that it made it better or different than you expected?
Once the pairs have finished discussing students will place their painting on the shelf to dry.
Sponge Activity
Students that finish early can attempt a second painting/drawing that is to be produced in a different
colour. Once completed both they will then compare the differences produced from the two images.
Assessment Methods
Learning Objective 1: Completed through observations, discussion and questioning.
Learning Objective 2: Completed through the sketchbook assignment.
Learning Objective 3: Completed by discussing with a partner their mood and how it impacted their work

Lesson 2
GLOs
SLOs
Drawings [Communicate]
A. The subjective perception of the individual student affects the way he/she expresses action and
direction.
B. Mood and feeling as perceived by the individual student can be expressed in colour drawings.
Compositions [Components 1]:
A. Manipulation of colour emphasis can help express mood in two-dimensional compositions.
Compositions [Organizations]:
A. The same composition, when executed with different colour schemes, communicates a different
mood or feeling

Learning Objectives
Students will
1. Explore and discuss how abstract expressionism art can convey feelings or moods using art
vocabulary
2. Create colour field paintings with specific colour schemes in order to create a certain mood or
feeling within their artwork
3. Learn how to play when viewing and creating art and discuss its importance to their own work
Resources Consulted
Alberta Education Curriculum
Colligate Academy of Colorado
Materials
Watercolour paper
Watercolour paint
Pencils
Water containers
Paper towel
Teaching Strategies
Lecture, group discussion, hands on activity, peer feedback
Introduction
-As a class we will discuss the abstract expressionist movement
and will be introduced to their final project
-Has anyone seen this image before?
- Abstract expressionist artists started by attempting to create
a form of artwork that expressed their concerns in a meaning
of new art of meaning and substance.
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-Once abstract expressionism matured, there were two segments that comprised a lot of the work, colour
field and action or gesture painting.
-Colour field paintings were explorations by the artist seeking to discover the interactions between the
colours in order to achieve the sublime instead of the beautiful.
-As a class we will engage the paintings in play trying to seek out the sublime that artist were trying to
achieve
-The artists Barnet Newman, Mark Rothko and Helen Frankenthaler are widely recognized with this part
of abstract expressionism.
-How could you describe this image?
-What does this image remind you of?
What do these colours remind you of?
How is this image different than the last? Do the colours provoke
you in a different want than the last? Why or why not?

Body
Discuss the rubric and expectations of students when creating their
painting.
Create a colour field painting
1. Students will work over a thick amount of newspaper to
catch excess paint that drips off the canvas.
2. Explain that there should be a minimum amount of talking
so that there is a possibility of their subconscious coming through
into their paintings
3. While students are painting, play jazz or classical music,
this is to replicate the time and space that the expressionist artist
were placed in.
4. Have students use water to thin down their paint to a
transparent state before painting. Students should apply paint by
pouring onto the canvas and allowing and directing the way the
paint soaks into the canvas and bleeds into the other colours.
5. Students will choose a specific colour scheme in order to
project a specific mood
6. At the end of the class, have the students clean all the
brushes used for painting and other clean up procedures.
7. Paintings will be left to dry overnight.
8. Repeat the process for the next class until the students are
stratified with their painting
9. Supervise students to ensure they are being appropriate with the paint while they are painting

Conclusion
Once students have completed their paintings, they will then have a peer provide them feedback about
what is happening within their painting. Explain and discuss what is expected from both parties of the
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interaction. Ensure the student giving feedback is giving constructive criticism and insightful responses to
the artwork.
Students will then hand in their work with an exit slip answering the questions:
Were able to get into the zone while painting? Why or why not?
Did you project something from their subconscious that they did not expect?
What specific mood were you trying to achieve with your painting? Did you achieve this? Why or why
not? How could you improve it the next time you paint?
Sponge Activity
Students that finish early can look up different abstract expressionist art. Let them know that they will be
moving onto action painting for their next work.
Assessment Methods
Learning Objective 1: Observe students use of art language during the discussion about the abstract
expressionist and field colour paintings
Learning Objective 2: Completed through completion of artwork
Learning Objective 3: Students completion of artwork and exit slip questions

Lesson 3
GLOs
SLOs
Drawings [Communicate]
A. The subjective perception of the individual student affects the way he/she expresses action and
direction.
B. Mood and feeling as perceived by the individual student can be expressed in colour drawings.
Compositions [Components 1]:
A. Manipulation of colour emphasis can help express mood in two-dimensional compositions.
Drawings [Articulate and Evaluate]:
A. Making comparisons about mood and feeling between ones own works and works by other students
is part of learning to talk about art.
Compositions [Organizations]:
A. The same composition, when executed with different colour schemes, communicates a different
mood or feeling
Learning Objectives
Students will
1. Create an action painting that displays a mood or feeling through a specific colour scheme
2. Discuss using art vocabulary what mood or feeling are conveyed in their peers art work during
an art critique
3. Write down any moments or experience with their subconscious that is displayed through their
artwork
Resources Consulted
Alberta Education Curriculum
Abstract Expressionism: Action Painting and Color Field
Materials
Canvases
Paint
Paintbrushes
Rubric
Teaching Strategies
Group discussion, peer assessment, lecture, hands on activity, demonstration

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Introduction
Has anyone seen this
image before?
What do you notice about
the image that is
interesting?
How do you think the
painting was created?
Is how it is created more
important than what it
represents?

The other section of abstract expressionism is gesture or action painting. That is artwork that is created
through the bodily movements and these movements are shown in the final artwork. Jackson Pollock the
pioneer of the paint dripping. His paintings have an unexplainable rhythm that intrigues viewers and
allows them to become lost in his imagery.
How do you feel about the painting?
Is it just a bunch of paint dripped on a canvas? Why do you say that?
How many layers do you think is on this painting?
Why do you think Jackson Pollock used theses colours?

Body
Creating a gesture painting
1. Divide the students into groups of four to five students
2. Explain that the students that this will be a cooperative learning experience and that all students
will have to actively participate together in order to receive full points
3. Inform the students that they need to decide as a group what mood or feeling they are trying to
achieve with their painting and pick a colour scheme that will correctly collate to that mood or
feeling
4. Distribute canvases that have been primed
5. Explain that in order to replicate Jackson Pollocks style of painting that they too will be painting
on the ground/floor
6. Supply each student with brushes, sticks, empty cans for pain and rags.
7. Explain that the idea is to drip paint on the canvas with large body movements and gestures. As
the y work the pain will gradually begin to layer and build up and cover the entire canvas
8. Demonstrate on a separate piece of canvas
9. Explain that there should be a minimum amount of talking so that there is a possibility of their
subconscious coming through into their paintings
10. While the students work again play jazz or classical music
11. Coordinate the students movement around the canvas by assigning each student to a side of the
painting and having the students move to a new side at regularly timed intervals so that every
student has the opportunity to paint all around the painting. Once students develop a rhythm allow
for more spontaneity.
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12. At the end of the lesson have the students clean all brushes and sticks used for painting.
13. Once the artwork is dry students will partake in an art critique so the class can explore all of the
other paintings.
Conclusion
Art Critique
1. Students will participate in an art critique.
2. Each group will display their work
3. For the first 10 minute students will do a gallery walk, just looking and exploring the artwork
individually
4. Students will then come together and explain to them the procedure for doing an art critique.
a. Groups will present their piece
i. Discuss what they feel like best/caused most challenges with
ii. What specific mood or feeling that they were trying to achieve
b. Viewers will try to find things that they find intriguing about their peers artwork, suggest
to students to use their own challenges for comparison
c. Provide probing questions to the viewers or groups to guide the critique when necessary
to help move along the discussion
d. After the critique students will self-assess themselves and their group on how they
believe that they did for their art.
5. Students will individually write down in their sketchbook any subconscious moment that were
produced in their artwork.
Sponge Activity
Groups that finish early can use their sketchbook to record the experience or to attempt to place
themselves into the zone while doodling.
Assessment Methods
Learning Objective 1: Completed action painting, rubric peer and self-assessment
Learning Objective 2: Observations, questioning and checklist during art critique
Learning Objective 3: Completed through sketchbook recordings

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