Mixed Media Landscapes
"Adopt the pace of nature,
her secret is patience."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Facebook reminded me that this time last year the girls and I were farm sitting for friends in Helvetia, Oregon. Oh, take me back to wide open spaces, big blue sky, and green as far as the eye can see. Take me back to air so lush and fresh (unless you are standing in the chicken coop) that you get a little heady when you breathe it in. Take me back to the place where the grass grows green and lichen and moss hang from every tree.
landscape with red barn Helvetia, Oregon
rusty red cows Helvetia, Oregon
white barn and a white horse on the ridge Helvetia, Oregon
lichen and moss covered trees
If I can't click my heels and land in the Emerald Forest I am going to "go there" in an art lesson. This week's mixed media project is an homage to the art of primitive pastoral landscapes and a study in color. Are you ready? These little artists made some big, bold art.
materials sorted by color: greens, blues, purples, reds
Materials:
watercolor or mixed media paper
scissors
glue sticks
tempera cakes - primary + neon
assorted scrapbook paper - blues, purples, yellow, reds
black Sharpie marker
Sort your materials in color families. We had 4 tables: blue table, green table, purple table, and red table.
blue table - tempera cakes, oil pastels, craft paper
green table - tempera cakes, oil pastel, craft paper
purple table - tempera cakes, oil pastels, craft paper
student laying tempera over her pencil sketch
We started our landscapes by sketching out our underpainting in pencil. For this project our foreground (pastures, rivers, animals) took up most of the page. Our middle ground (houses, trees, shrubs) started 3-4 inches from the top of the paper. Our background (mountain range and sky) was 1-2 inches from the top of the paper. This is not your average landscape composition but we had so much fun with it! After we sketched we explored a monochrome color scheme with tempera paint and water.
student adding oil pastel to landscape. You can see the tempera wash and first collage element have already been added here.
Let's talk color. What is a monochrome color scheme? Monochromatic color schemes are derived from a single base hue and extended using shades, tones, and tints. What is a complementary color scheme? Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel (example: red and green). The high contrast of complementary colors creates a vibrant look, especially when used at full saturation. We achieved this high contrast with cut paper. The student work below is a gorgeous example of both of these color schemes combined.
this student from the green table chose to use collage paper from the red table to make those tiny houses pop
This student from the red table chose paper from the blue table to make a cypress tree. I love the loose and expressive brush work in this piece.
This student from the green table chose paper from the blue table and a pop of red from the red table. Look at the balance and harmony they achieved by repeating the blue paper in the foreground and the background. The student added a final layer with oil pastel. How cute are those carrots and corn stalks?
This student wanted to make "a village". I love the contrast of the washy foreground and the bold background.
this student from the blue table decided to play it cool and then knock our socks off with a single red cloud
"a river runs through this town" Swoooooon.
purple color punch with a gorgeous cut paper river
"there's a storm blowing through" The movement and the symbols in this piece make my heart so happy.
These besties decided to create a collaborative piece. Pretty cool, eh?
