I Can See Clearly Now An Introduction to Watercolor Self-Portraits This lesson is an introduction of watercolor self-portraits for young elementary school students. The lesson provides students with a new painting technique, watercolor, and allows them to express their emotions in a more vibrant light, a la Impressionist artists. The purpose of this lesson is to inspire students to express their emotions through art, in this case through watercolor. After reading the story by Dr. Seuss, students will begin to connect different colors with different types of feelings, leading them to express how they interpret themselves in a colorful self-portrait. In order to more fully understand portrait expression, students will be introduced to Vincent Van Gogh’s self-portraits. Van Gogh’s portraits vary greatly in color and reference will be made to his Blue Period in particular. Grade Level:
K-3
Time Required:
1-2 hours
Materials:
watercolor paper (large) watercolor brushes watercolor paints water cups small mirrors pencils
Text:
My Many Colored Days
by Dr. Seuss
Vocabulary:
Self-portrait: a painting of the face of an artist completed by the artist himself Objectives: • Students will create a self-portrait • Students’ color choice in self portrait will represent a personal emotion Procedure: Set Up: At each place: one watercolor brush, one tray of watercolors, a water dish, and a large piece of watercolor paper. Introduction: Introduce the lesson vocabulary word of self-portrait. Read Dr. Seuss’ book, My Many Colored Days. Discuss how color can represent a feeling (Have you heard someone say they feel ‘blue’?). Show students examples of Van Gogh’s self-portraits. Discuss the pieces and use class volunteers to label the color and emotion that might go with each piece. Ask students for examples of how they are feeling that day and what color they would use to embody that feeling.