In this unit we will focus on mark making and texture. We will begin by introducing the students to the artist Vincent Van Gogh. They will be set a research homework on the artist. And we will explore how to analyse an artist’s work using the key terms content/ form/ mood/ process. We will develop skills in mark making initially by identifying the marks the artist has used and re-creating one of his pieces of work.
We will then move the students into ink drawing, and they will be asked to do a series of direct observation drawings of shells, exploring texture marks.
They will also be given the opportunity to explore a wide variety of other materials, exploring mark making: fine-liner/ watercolour/ charcoal/ printing.
They will then be asked to do some concentrated studies of plants in selected mediums.
1) Baseline test - students will be baselined at the beginning of the year, they will do a direct observational drawing and the will be marked from Bronze-9.
2) Summative Assessment - Students will be assessed on the unit of work as a whole and be given a level from Bronze-9.
Texture refers to the surface quality in a work of art. We associate textures with the way that things look or feel. Everything has some type of texture. We describe things as being rough, smooth, silky, shiny, fuzzy and so on.
In the visual arts, texture is the perceived surface quality of a work of art. It is an element of two-dimensional and three-dimensional designs and is distinguished by its perceived visual and physical properties.
Mark making is a term used to describe the different lines, patterns, and textures we create in a piece of art. It applies to any art material on any surface, not only paint on canvas or pencil on paper.
Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art.
Students will be introduced to the American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist and illustrator Shepherd Fairey, and be asked to complete a research homework on the artist’s work. They will also be introduced to the theme of portraiture, and we will look at the wider context of this theme within art before focusing on stylised portraits based on Shepherd Fairey’s work.
Students will have lessons in basic painting skills, using Acrylic paints. They will then apply these skills to a stylised portrait, where they have been asked to focus on using line/ contour/ selective tonal values and a limited colour palette.
We will then look at portrait drawing in a wider sense, and how to draw portraits in proportion and with accuracy. They will be asked to practice basic skills and then complete a self portait.
Students will then be given the opportunity to research from a selection of portrait artists and create a piece of work based on this artist.
Summative Assessment: Students will be assessed on the unit of work as a whole and be given a level from Bronze-9.
Street art is visual art created in public locations, usually unsanctioned artwork executed outside of the context of traditional art venues.
The art or skill of combining text and pictures in advertisements, magazines, or books.
The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change.
A person who draws or creates pictures for magazines, books, advertising, etc.
Frank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, illustrator and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene.
Depict or treat in a mannered and non-realistic style
An outline representing or bounding the shape or form of something.
Palette can refer to a range of colors, if we limit these to a selected few, this is a limited colour palette.
The art of painting or taking portraits.
A part, share, or number considered in comparative relation to a whole.
We will introduce the theme of perspective to the students, and put it into context; historically as well as its wider applications.
During the unit we will cover both one-point and two-point perspective drawing, they will begin with the basics, using a vanishing point and horizon line, and the tasks will increase in difficulty.
They will have some freedom to research existing images, which they will then have to work out how to re-create.
The unit will culminate in an end of year assessment drawing.
Summative Assessment: Students will be assessed on the unit of work as a whole and be given a level from Bronze-9.
The art of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each other.
A method that shows how things appear to get smaller as they get further away, converging towards a single 'vanishing point' on the horizon line. It is a way of drawing objects upon a flat piece of paper so that they look three-dimensional and realistic.
A linear perspective in which parallel lines along the width and depth of an object are represented as meeting at two separate points on the horizon that are 90 degrees apart as measured from the common intersection of the lines of projection.
The point at which receding parallel lines viewed in perspective appear to converge.
The terms “horizon line” & “eye level” are often used synonymously. Horizon line/eye level refer to a physical/visual boundary where sky separates from land or water. It is the actual height of the viewer's eyes when looking at an object, interior scene.