Second Grade Fauvist Self-Portraits
Second graders began the year with a discussion the French artistic movement known as Fauvism, whereby artists such as Henri Matisse used bold expressive colors and strong brush strokes to achieve a “wild” style. They drew their own self-portraits using white glue on black construction paper. When the glue dried, they used chalkpastels to color in the face and background. Like magic, the black lines remained while colors emerged. Students practiced shading their portraits using an imaginary light-source, which helped achieve the look of highlights and shadows on the face. The process was messy and fun. What a great way to kick off the year!
