Line, Shape and Color, OH MY

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way" - Georgia O'Keefe

 As we continue to explore painting techniques, color mixing, shape and line exploration students are discovering wonderful ways of creating personalized pieces of work. One of the focuses in all of our art classes is introducing and exploring the elements of art. The elements of art include, line, shape, form, space, texture, value and color. Many of these elements can be seen in just one project. The focus with these beginning projects are line, shape, and color. 

By starting with a solid foundation and understanding of line, shape, and color students gain a greater understanding of how to manipulate and transform these elements to create individualized pieces of work. It is amazing to see the work students have been creating, each project completed is an expression of each artist. 

Here are some great books for younger students in grade K-2 about line, color, and shape. 

Here are some student examples of students exploring line, color, and shape. 

Kindergarteners were inspired by the artist Kandinsky and his use of color and shape. A great book to reference this artist is "The Noisy Paint Box" written by Barb Rosenstock. 

First Graders were asked to create a painting where the background was filled different colored squares and rectangles and then asked to create a cityscape on top. Each one is different and totally unique. 

Second Graders continued to explore warm and cool colors with Jasper Johns inspired number and letter painting. 

Third Graders created beautiful abstract landscapes. They were then tasked with creating a variety of shades of warm and cool colors to complete their pieces. 

Fourth Graders used their imagination to create cityscapes using a variety of shapes in an original and interesting way. 

Fifth Graders have been working on Notans. A notan is a Japanese design concept involving the play and placement of light and dark elements as they are placed next to each other in the composition and imagery.