Painting
Pixilated Portraits
Students created a pixilated version of their portraits. I first took the students pictures and pixilated them in Photoshop. (If you have an art room with access to computers & this program, you can have them do this step!) The pixil boxes on the initial images were 3/4 in x 3/4 in. This expanded 11x17 boxes across. Students then gridded their paper to 1in x 1in pixils, on 11x17 paper. This slightly enlarged the image, but kept the proportions the same. Next, students had to use watercolor to match the colors in each box of their picture. They worked box by box until they had a finished product. This project helped students practice craftsmanship, color mixing, using watercolor media, gridding, and proportions.
Focused Artist: Chuck Close
Student Sample
Stencil Graffiti
For this project, students were introduced to the graffiti artist Banksy. The were required to create a multi-layered stencil "tag" on a 12x12 pannel of wood. Each student was given their own pannel. Students had to create a single composition with multiple layers that conveyed something important to them. This topic was left open to allow the students to express themselves however they wanted. Once everyone's pannels were done, they were assembled into a large "Graffiti Wall."
Focused Artist: Banksy
Sample
Student Samples