Artistic Pursuits Elementary 4-5, Bk. 2

Color and Composition
by Brenda Ellis
This book is the answer for the child who wants to make artworks in color, providing a first in-depth look at the color wheel. As children learn to mix colors, their expanded knowledge turns a simple 12-color pencil set into an unlimited color source for all of their paintings. Fourth and fifth grade students can begin this book without prior knowledge of art and work independently without the need for parental instruction. The content and conversational tone is perfectly suited to the age level and designed to engage children in the process of creating original artworks. Units guide the child through an ordered and progressive study of color while covering topics like primary and secondary color, neutral colors, analogous colors, as well as compositional topics of rhythm, points of view, and emphasis. Other units offer an approach to drawing difficult subjects like buildings, figures, faces, and interiors. Each unit is crafted for focus on one color theory principle at a time while exploring the topic in four unique ways.

After being introduced to the topic of a unit through words and illustration, a Using Creativity exercise requires that the child think creatively while exploring the world through engaging studies designed to develop observation skills. Art appreciation lessons show how color is used through the study of American masters including the genres of American landscape painters, Impressionists, Regionalists, and painters of the American West. The text appeals to the interests of the elementary student as it explains what Americans were thinking, doing, and discovering during the artist’s lifetime. Techniques such as creating washes, hard and soft edges, tinting and shading are covered as children explore a variety of subjects such as still-life, portraits, and landscapes in their art. The book provides lessons for the completion of sixty-eight finished paintings and colored drawings that are both original and entirely the student’s own.

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