I have been thinking about this project for a few years now, but have not found a good way to incorporate paintings with texture in a large class until I found Nasco's Acrylic Model Paste (No commission paid to mention their product, I just like it.)
Paint with a heavy body is too expensive to buy for a whole class. I tried mixing paints with plaster which was too brittle. Flour was bad, and colors with both were far too pastel. Then I thought, "why not paint with texture first, then paint over that?!" It seemed to work, and I was able to really focus on texture as an art element. We used brushes to apply the acrylic paste dispensed on paper plates. I cut popsicle sticks to a wedge point on one end to use as a pseudo-pallet knife. I worried that the kids would use too much paste and I might not have enough, but most used a tablespoon or two on our 6 x 8 in. canvases.
I have a collection of images for students to choose from and our motivation was to pick an image that would be the beautiful view you'd like out of your vacation home window. This way they had a broad choice. I could also see having students look up landscapes or landmarks from their own cultural backgrounds, researched and printed out as references. Whatever they use, there should be a way to make a personal tie-in so that all have a reference that means something to each individual rather than forcing them to paint what you have chosen for them. This could also work as a plein air impressionism project should you be able to take your class outdoors.
Paint with a heavy body is too expensive to buy for a whole class. I tried mixing paints with plaster which was too brittle. Flour was bad, and colors with both were far too pastel. Then I thought, "why not paint with texture first, then paint over that?!" It seemed to work, and I was able to really focus on texture as an art element. We used brushes to apply the acrylic paste dispensed on paper plates. I cut popsicle sticks to a wedge point on one end to use as a pseudo-pallet knife. I worried that the kids would use too much paste and I might not have enough, but most used a tablespoon or two on our 6 x 8 in. canvases.
I have a collection of images for students to choose from and our motivation was to pick an image that would be the beautiful view you'd like out of your vacation home window. This way they had a broad choice. I could also see having students look up landscapes or landmarks from their own cultural backgrounds, researched and printed out as references. Whatever they use, there should be a way to make a personal tie-in so that all have a reference that means something to each individual rather than forcing them to paint what you have chosen for them. This could also work as a plein air impressionism project should you be able to take your class outdoors.
The acrylic paste dried faster than expected and students were able to add color the next day. I use foil over heavy duty paper plates as pallets and sorted students by color choices. All the sunset themed painters sat at one group (Reds, oranges, yellows, black), beach scenes at another (Browns, blues, and aquas), jungle and forest at a third (Browns, greens, yellows, & blues). This way they could share pallets of colors and we had little waste. At the end of each session, I coverd pallets with kitchen plastic wrap to stay fresh daily.
The examples below were by students ranging in age of 7 through 16 at my summer art camp program. This will definitely be something I will do in my school classroom this coming year.
The examples below were by students ranging in age of 7 through 16 at my summer art camp program. This will definitely be something I will do in my school classroom this coming year.
FYI: I will be taking a much deserved vacation, and will be gone from this site until late August. If you have enjoyed my posts and would like more in-depth resources, feel free to browse the links to my posters and books to the right of this webpage. If you have an Amazon account, all my books are there too. I hope to have some more amazing stuff to share soon based on my upcoming adventure to Oaxaca and other locations.
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