Painting with

Colour
Kelsey Galbraith and Lacey
Macleod
Grade 7 Art

ART Value and Drawing: Stage 1 Desired Results

Establishe
d Goals
Students will:
Learn about
colour theory

TRANSFER GOAL

Students will understand the concepts of atmospheric perspective and strange

space by using colour and form to create three-dimensional space on a twodimensional surface.

Create key
terms with
paint
Learn and
practice
colour mixing
Know what
tints of a
colour are,
and how to
produce them
Understand
different
characteristics
of foreground,
middle
ground, and
background.
Be able to
simplify forms
Understand
the principle
of
atmospheric
perspective
Learn to
create space
in a painting
using colour
Understand
the meaning
of strange
space

MEANING
Enduring
Understandings:
Students will
understand
U1 Key terms in
colour, primary
tertiary,
complimentary,
analogous, with an
emphasis on
monochromatic, tints
and range of value.
U2 How
atmospheric
perspective works,
specifically that
colour becomes less
saturated as it
recedes.
U3 The process of
colour chunking
when reducing form
to create space.
U4- The concept of
strange space by
experimenting with
the order of
monochromatic color

Essential Questions:
Students will keep considering
Q 1 Examine the idea of colour schemes provoking
a mood or feeling onto the viewers.
Q2 Describe how colour and colour schemes create
perspective and space in paintings?
Summarize why the use of foreground, middleground,
and background is effective in creating space.
-( Q engaging students to reduce form and shape)
Strange Space.
Q3 How does this artist create strange space? What
rules are they not following? How does this affect the
perspective?
What is strange about this painting? Where does your
eye go first? What do you think this is a painting of?
How do artists use strange space to create interest in
their art for the viewer?
Considering the rules of atmospheric perspectivewhat do you notice about the space in this painting
that is different?
(see more key questions in lesson 3)

schemes and
atmospheric
perspective.
ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS
Students will know

That colour can be

used to portray
mood, perspective,
and space.
The properties of
the colour wheel
specifically
analogous and
tertiary colours

Students will be skilled at

Mixing a value range of a colour.
Creating a foreground, middle ground and
background.
Creating atmospheric space.
Creating strange space

Applying lighter
tints of a colour in
the background
creates
atmospheric
space.
The concepts and
rules of creating
atmospheric
space, and how
artists experiment
with these rules to
create strange
space.
How to compare
two pieces of their
work- discussing
similarities and
differences.

STAGE 2 Evidence
Evaluative Criteria

Assessment Evidence

Performance is judged in
terms of - Critique

Students will need to show their learning

by: Showcasing their paintings in a final
critique and explain the elements
involved.

Participation- class
discussions, project work,
experimenting with colour
mixing, taking risks in
creating space.

Transfer Task: Students will show their learning

by review of topics they already know, group
discussion about key terms introduced, mixing
their own paints (hands-on), practicing to
create a monochromatic scene using the rules
of atmospheric perspective, and practice
creating strange space by breaking the rules

Completion- proper use of

techniques, clean
appearance.

Creativity- showing a sense

of individualism in their
final project,

of atmospheric perspective.

Unit Summary
This unit is all about learning the conventions of art elements and their relation
to creating space. The lessons provide a foundational structure to understanding
how space is created when using atmospheric perspective in many of the
landscape paintings found throughout history - Caspar David Friedrich for
example. Students will apply their knowledge and create examples of space
using different modes of reference. They will practice many skills in colour
mixing, rendering and simplifying form, and applying their understanding of
value / tint ranges. After developing an understanding for the order of value
which is found in atmospheric perspective, students will then be asked to disrupt
these rules to create strange space that can be found is works by Georgia
OKeeffe and Etel Adnan. These lessons are designed to be the primary lessons
to give students a confident foundation in the spatial conventions of art. The
direction will be in the form of key questions in reference to visual examples
from contemporary art and history and peer work. Many different approaches
could be taken to this framework which allows for open manipulation of the
lessons. Students could create a number of pieces for studies and examples to
work from. The end result could come much later in the unit with subjects of
strange space, spatial collage mixed media, contrasting a piece from art history
- simplifying and changing the space.

Unit Rationale
This lesson package for painting with colour works well for grade 7 students as it
outlines fundamental principles of art. Grade 7 is a transitional year, as students
are now in junior high. It is the grade where students begin to pick their own
options, a huge difference from elementary routines. This may be the students
first real art class, so teaching fundamental principles is ideal. Understanding
colour theory as a young artist will allow for success in their future. Along with
teaching colour theory, students will have the opportunity to explore
atmospheric perspective and the conventions to create this principle. Next
students will begin to understand the ideas of colour blocking and simplifying
forms, vital principles used by artists. After the students have a solid
understanding of the following concepts, they will have the opportunity to play
with strange space. This will allow students to begin to explore their own ideas,
and start to develop their individual potential. It will encourage a deeper thought
process in students, and act as a vehicle to inspiration. This lesson package
includes essential vocabulary, visual examples, hands on experimenting, and a

comparing critique. These choices were made to reach a wide range of learning
styles.

Lesson Summaries
Lesson One: Colour Theory. In this lesson students will have the chance to
explore further into what they already know about colour theory. Students have
their own colour wheel from a previous lesson that will be essential to further
their understandings in this lesson. Trusting that they know the properties of a
colour wheel, and which colours are primary and tertiary, this lesson will take
them a step further. The lesson explores multiple colour schemes such as
complementary, split-complementary, analogous, and monochromatic. Students
will have the opportunity to express their understanding of these schemes with
paint in the final activity. There will be a detailed review of the colour wheel,
defining and explaining the colour schemes, paired with thought out examples
to go with each. Students will understand the formula (which colours to choose
on a colour wheel) to produce each of the colour schemes. By completing this
assignment students will start to ponder colour relationships, and what colour
can produce; for example, mood and space. After the products have been
finalized, conversations about the monochromatic section will be introduced.
Language like tints and shades of one colour will we addressed in relation to
monochromatic colour schemes. This branches into the next lesson, which
addresses the idea of atmospheric perspective, and how different tints of a
colour can create this concept.
Lesson Two: Teaching Atmospheric perspective. Students will learn the
role of colour in the concept of Atmospheric perspective and the relationship of
foreground and background. Using the knowledge acquired from the previous
lesson on colour theory students will understand that colours and detail become
less saturated and prominent as they recede into space. The activity Using
paint chip strips students will use previously built skills to remix the colours of
the paint strips, then apply their new knowledge to create a space that has
atmospheric perspective. Using images with atmospheric perspective, students
will be introduced to the idea of simplified form and how artists use this as a
stylistic choice, but also to create space. In completion of this lesson, students
will have applied their knowledge of colour mixing and arranging colour tints in a
value range to create three-dimensional space. With the introduction to
simplified form, this will set up the students for the next sequential lesson.
Lesson Three: Creating Strange Space. This would be considered the end
result, a simplified monochromatic rendering of a given space. After the
students have had time to practice atmospheric space in the previous lesson,
students will be given an image that they then plan and chose to simplify a part
of the image in a value of colour. Using this as reference material they will then
further reduce the image into simplified forms of monochromatic color,
transferring this composition onto their own piece of paper. The aim is to have
students start to create strange space using their skills of colour theory and

spatial rendering. The criteria/parameters are important to structuring the

activity
Evaluation. Students will be assessed on the activities throughout each lesson.
The activities provide scaffolding for the next lessons in sequence. Students
would be assessed on their work from each activity and mini lesson therefore
their engagement and participation could be measured as well. The criteria
would be quite structured due to the nature of these lessons are to explore and
refine technical skill. This can be a no- fail approach to teaching skill and
constructs of art. A fourth lesson could be added which would then allow for
more conceptual exploration adding an object into space, further distorting the
space. Ect.

Name: Lacey MacLeod & Kelsey Galbraith

Grade/Subject: Grade 7
Unit: Painting
Lesson 1: Colour theory
Date: January 14, 2015 _
Class length: 2, one hour periods
GLO: Students will experiment with colour effects on compositions
SLO (concepts):
A. Primary colours combine to create secondary and tertiary colours.
B. Colour schemes create certain moods in image.
C. Colour schemes direct attention.
Learning objectives:

1. Students understand how to produce tints and shades of a specific colour.

2. Students understand meanings of key terms.
3. Students understand beginning of atmospheric perspective.
Assessment methods:
1. Students will paint their monochromatic section using tints and shades.
2. Students will produce work according to the formula that has been
specified
3. Students recognize that tints and shades affect perspective.
Key terms: Monochromatic, Analogous, Complementary, split-complementary,
mood, Atmospheric. perspective
Materials: tempera paint, paintbrush, pencil, paper, paint tray.
Teaching Strategies: Review, and introduce key terms, hands on experience of
materials, demonstration, show examples, and class discussion.

Procedure:
Intro
(students have a colour wheel similar to
this one displayed that they created in a
previous lesson)
1. Have a quick review of terms they
should already know. Have a large
colour wheel displayed either on
the smart board or physical copy.
2. Have students recall simply ideas,
such as which colors are primary,
tertiary, and complementary. This
knowledge should be known to
students in grade 7.
3. Talk about the colours that are formed on the color wheel between a
primary and tertiary colour. Some students may have not gone this far in
past colour theory lessons.
4. Explain four specific terms. Complementary, Split- complementary,
Analogous, and monochromatic. Have the definitions the
definitions on a slide, SHOW students on the colour wheel, and then
provide examples of art works that work in that particular colour scheme.
Complementary colours directly opposite each other in the colour
spectrum, such as red and green or blue and orange, that when combined
in the right proportions, produce white light. POINT these examples out on
the colour wheel so students understand.

Split-complementary colour scheme is a variation of the

complementary colour scheme. In addition to the base colour, it uses the
two colours adjacent to its complement. This colour scheme has the same
strong visual contrast as the complementary colour scheme, but has less
tension. POINT out an example: the green section, with the two colours on
either side of red.
Analogous colours are groups of colours that are adjacent to each other
on the colour wheel, with one being the dominant colour, which tends to
be a primary or secondary colour, and two on either side complementing,
which tend to be tertiary. POINT an example: red section, with the two
colours on either side of it.
Monochromatic colours are all the colours (tints, tones, and shades) of a
single hue. Monochromatic colour schemes are derived from a single base
hue and extended using its shades, tones and tints.

Complementary

Analogous

Split- Complementary

Monochromatic

5. Allow time for discussion of these terms, as well as student questions.

Questions for discussion:
Explore the reasons artists use specific colour themes.
Which theme do you prefer, why?
Do you think the choice of an artists colour theme evokes a certain
mood?

Body
1. Now that we know, and understand these basic key-terms we are going to
create our own depictions of each colour theme. The purpose of this
assignment is to have a physical base model of these terminologies to
refer back to in your painting journey.
2. You will receive a 12 x 12 piece of paper. You must divide this paper into 4
EQUAL parts. You may go about this by making 4 squares, or 4 triangles.
You must use the whole page.
3. You must design a pattern in one of the 4 sections, and then duplicate the
SAME pattern in the other sections, with a high emphasis on symmetry to
your middle point.
4. When you are done your symmetrical drawings, you must show the
teacher before you move on to painting. From there you will depict the
above 4 colour themes in each of your sections. You may pick which ever
colors you want on the colour wheel, but they MUST follow the formula of
each key-term.
5. Use your previous knowledge of mixing paint, and appropriate amounts of
paint when you are working on this project. If you need a reminder on how
to do this, ask the teacher or a peer.
6. Here are examples of works. DO NOT COPY these works. They are just to
show you an example of what the end product might look like.

Closure
1. When you are finished, place your work in the drying racks and gather for
discussion.
2. Start a discussion and emphasis on the monochromatic section of their
painting. Discussion questions to prompt thinking:
Does your monochromatic section evoke a certain mood?
How is the space in your monochromatic section portrayed?
Describe how to use monochromatic colours to create perspective?

3. If students finish early have them paint doodle with only one color,
including black and white, and make different tints and shades. Ask them
to ponder the idea of perspective, and how they think they could show
perspective with only one hue.
This is a sponge activity for the following lesson that involves atmospheric
perspective, and monochromatic colours.

Name: Lacey MacLeod & Kelsey Galbraith

Grade/Subject:
Unit: Painting
Lesson 2:
Atmospheric perspective
Date: January 14, 2015

Class length: 1 class, 1hour.

GLO: Students will experiment with colour effects on compositions.

SLO (concepts):
A. Primary colors combine to create secondary and tertiary colours
complete compositions using limited colour schemes.
D. Colour schemes direct attention advancing and receding colour.
Learning objectives:
Students will:
1. Understand that when creating atmospheric perspective colours become
less saturated as they recede into space. Their hues and tints become
lighter.
2. Mix colour to match references (Paint sample strips) to create their own
idea of atmospheric perspective.

3. Begin to understand the process of color chunking by reducing form.

Assessment methods:
1. Students will create atmospheric perspective on a 2-d surface, using
paint.
2. Student will mix paint to match their colour samples and prove they
understand elements of atmospheric perspective.
3. Students will demonstrate colour blocking on a magazine picture.
Key terms: Atmospheric Perspective, colour Saturation, recede/ reduce, value,
colour chunking.
Materials: Paint chip samples, paintbrushes, paper, white paint, paint tray
Teaching Strategies: show examples, define keywords, hands-on experience
with tints.
Procedure:
1. Mini- Lesson on Foreground, Middle ground, and background
relationships.
Explain Using Examples such as Example C (below) Engage in discussion
about what is in the foreground- what is in most detail.
Middle ground- what would be considered the middle ground of this image
(the lake)
The Background- what would be considered the background- what are
some clues that make it a background (less detail, lighter in colour)
Students could fill out a simple chart with the art elements on the X-axis,
and labels like foreground, middle ground, background on the Y-axis.

Foreground
Line

Colo

Middle-ground

Background

-Highly Detailed
-Line styles and
characteristics easily
distinguishable

Colours generally on the

Colours are less

ur

mid-point on the value

spectrum.
-Not highly saturated, but

Valu
e

Values in grey scale are

generally on the lower end of
the spectrum. Colour values
are more vibrant with more
colours content.

Shap
e.

Highly Detailed. Shapes are

finely tuned to be read as
recognizable objects tree
trunk, rocks, etc.

saturated- more
neutral and washed
out. Located on
higher end of the
value spectrum.

Easily recognizable yet

not with tremendous
detail. The shape
identifies objects a box
like shape could be read
as a building structure.

2. What is atmospheric perspective?

Also called aerial perspective, method of creating the illusion of depth,
or recession, in a painting or drawing by manipulating colour to represent
how space changes by the atmosphere when things are seen at a
distance. (Show examples not only of landscapes)

B.

C.

Where in the examples are there higher valued, or lighter tinted colours?
Are these colours located in the same area in all three pictures?
Examine the difference between the intensity of the colours. Where are
the more saturated colours located?

3. Simplifying form: Using the examples, engage students to think about

what information they would use when reducing the given images to
simpler forms. Use Smart board to demonstrate, then invite student
volunteers to model what simplified form looks like.

Activity 1:
Hand out paint sample strips to each student with matching paint and white
paint and paper.
Students will be asked to mix the colours to match their paint sample strips- so
adding white to make a value range.
Activity 2:
Students will be asked to create their own creation of space with atmospheric
perspective. Show examples of previous works, using simplified form and colour
blocking to make landscape, city scape, objects, rooms.
Key Questions:
When creating space - what do you notice about detail as you look from the
foreground to the background?
Looking at Georgia OKeeffe (image in lesson 3) - What do you think about
what she has chosen to paint. Do you think she has chosen to simplify her
image? How do you think she decided to do that - what do you notice about her
layers of space? Does the detail become less or more? What do you think about
her color palette? How do you think she made this colour?
What would you say is an important rule to create space? What is an important
order of colour?
Sponge Activity: What are the rules for atmospheric space? Where are lighter
colours, where are darker? What is in the middle? Next class we will be looking
at something a bit different. Artists are rule breakers, so next class we are going
to experiment with strange space. Not following the rules of atmospheric space.
Resources:
http://artconfidence.blogspot.ca/2011/08/color-theory-and-balance.html
http://www.outdoorexposurephoto.com/photoblog/digital-photography-tips/73/
https://kenziw1.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/foreground-middle-groundbackground/

Name: Lacey Macleod & Kelsey Galbraith

Grade/Subject: Art/ Grade 7
Unit: Painting and Colour
Lesson 3: Strange Space
Date: January 14, 2015
Class Length: 1 hour and 30
minutes
GLO: Primary colors combine to create secondary and tertiary colourscomplete compositions using limited colour schemes colour schemes direct
attention- advancing and receding colour.
Students will experiment with techniques and media within complete
compositions of two and three dimensions.
SLO: Two dimensional materials can be used to make compositions
demonstrating simple pictorial space the concept of distance suggested by
arrangements of shapes and colours.
Learning Objectives:
Students will:
1) Demonstrate their understanding of the concept of atmospheric perspective.
2) Demonstrate their understanding and skill of how to reduce/simplify form.
3) Using this understanding, students will then upset the rules of atmospheric
perspective when creating space to achieve an end result of strange space.
Assessment Methods:
1) Students will create a painting that has strange space by disrupting the rules
of atmospheric perspective.
2) Students will reduce form from a given image to create end result.
3) Students will use and reinforce their knowledge about value range in colour
to achieve end result.
Materials:
Magazine images that are examples of atmospheric perspective, which allow
for good form simplification and colour blocking.
Acrylic or Tempera Paint
Paper
Brushes 1-2 per student.
Palettes
Water bowls.

Teaching Strategies:
Using the smart board to present examples.
Allow time for student involvement for review and apply understanding of
simplified form. Show examples and invite students up to show how they
would reduce the form of a given image. Key Questions will be essential in
the verbal instruction application for the class. They are outlined in the
procedure.
Working With Materials.

1) Using magazine clippings to demonstrate colour chunking and simplifying

form from given the image.
2) Creating their own simplified composition from a given image.
Directions will be given in the form of visuals and key questions. The key
questions are outlined in the procedure.

Lesson Procedure and Body

1. Intro Lesson: Review concepts learned from previous
class.
Simplified Form, Foreground, Middle Ground, and Background,
Atmospheric Perspective.
Key questions will be asked to encourage students to think about space and
form. Students have demonstrated an understanding of atmospheric
perspective and now we are going to use those rules to create strange space
by disrupting the order of colour value.
Example images would be shown on the smart board. Students would be
encouraged to demonstrate how they would reduce form on the images
using smart board.

http://www.explore-drawing-and-painting.com/painting-landscapes.html
Key Questions:
Describe simplified form.
Analyze the form in these examples; think about how the artist simplified
them.
Explain the process of reducing form found in an image?
In this image, identify the foreground, middle ground, and background?
If I was to reduce form in the background, I would choose to use chunk all of
this information together, can you explain why I would choose only some
information?
Would someone like to show me how they would reduce form in the
foreground of this image?
Ponder atmospheric perspective, can you explain to me what the background
would look like in atmospheric perspective? What are some general rules
when creating atmospheric space?

-Sun water Maine, 1922

Pastel on paper laid down on board,
Georgia OKeeffe
-Sunset from Long Island, 1939
Oil on Canvas board
Georgia O Keeffe
https://aneclecticeccentric.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/georgia-okeeffelandscapes/

Georgia O'Keeffe, Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico/Out Back of Marie's II,
1930, Oil on canvas mounted to board, 24 1/4 x 36 1/4 inches, Gift of the
Burnett Foundation, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/landscape.html

2. Body Activity 1: Magazine Image Exercise.

This activity to is to entice students to think about how they will reduce the
form of an image by colour blocking. This is a warm up exercise for the final
project activity to kick-start students into thinking about reducing form and
creating strange space. Through instructions based in the form of asking key
questions, students will then reduce a component of their image by applying
colour directly to the image.
At their desk students will need:
2 Colours of paint: One of their choosing and white.
1-2 Brushes
Pallet
Water container.
Magazine Image.
Key Questions:
-Looking at your image, identify the areas that would be the foreground,
middle ground and back ground, think about how you would choose to
reduce information to simplify form.

Give foresight to what we will be using this exercise for:

You will be using this image to create your own simplified version of strange
space. You need to simplify the image by reducing the information found in
all 3 grounds using the paint provided, chose a value that you would like to
start with and fill in the space right on the picture. (Have example)
Remember we are creating strange space does strange space follow the
rules of atmospheric perspective? What order would we disrupt?

3. Body Activity 2: Creating Strange Space.

Students will not create strange space referring to their magazine image
that they have just simplified part of. Examples and discussion around
artist that use strange space Jason Messinger, Etel Adnan, Salvador Dali
will shift students thought to strange space and how it disrupts the rules
of atmospheric space. Direction will be in the form of visual examples and
key question engagement. Students will use their image from the
previous activity and further simplify it by repainting the image on a new
piece of paper. They must disrupt the order of colour value.

Examples:

http://gallerytravels.blogspot.ca/2014/04/etel-adnan-at-callicoon-finearts.html

http://jasonmessingerart.com/artwork/2984998_Versailles_France_16_8x8_Til
es.html
Key Questions in Response to Examples:
-Describe the space in this image. Is it conventional or strange?

-Using your understanding of Atmospheric Perspective explain how the

artist has created strange space.
-Identify the areas that your eye goes first.
-How do you interpret the space in these images? What do you read as
foreground, middle ground and background?
Students will need:
2 paint colours: one of their choosing, and white.
1-2 brushes.
Paper.
Water.
Image from previous assignment.
Parameters Dialogue.
-

Using your image you will now create a simplified version of it on your blank
paper.
Remember to think about order of colour in atmospheric perspective, how
can we disrupt that to create strange space?
You must use the same value of colour for the simplified space you blocked
on the photograph, as you will on your end product. They will match. Do this
part first so you have a place to work from.
Closure:
Students will compare their lesson 2 and lesson 3 assignments through an
art walk. Students will be asked partner up and have a mini critique with a
peer.
Question and thought prompts would include:
Compare the magazine image to the painted image
Examine and analyze the difference in space with a partner.
Differentiate the forms in each composition. Explain how this form has
different roles in each composition.
Possible directions to go afterward:

Exploring other elements of art when creating space to understand

their role. - Colour, Line.

Inserting an object into space in reference to Wayne Whyte - to teach

about shadow, highlight, colour, and relationship to create believable
space.