LESSON PLANS SUMMER TERM 2024 (2nd half) Lesson 4: Deconstructing and reconstructing a magazine image.

This is something we've done in the past and used as a method of good watercolour practice. My students can choose any magazine image to cut into strips and stick onto watercolour paper leaving gaps the same size as the strips they've cut (see my example above).

In my example you can see that I am right handed and so working from left to right on my page, and that in the first gap (furthest left) I have completed three layers, on the middle gap, two layers and on the last gap (furthest right) I have completed just one layer of paint.

Summer Term 2024 (2nd half) Lesson 4: Deconstructing and reconstructing a magazine image.

·         This is something we’ve done many times before and is an effective way of practicing watercolour technique while making a beautiful piece of work.

·         Choose a magazine image – at the end of last week’s lesson plan I suggested flowers and garden images, but any subject would work for this exercise, people, buildings, landscapes etc.

·         Cut your image out of the magazine and then cut it into three or four vertical strips. With a glue-stick, paste your image onto watercolour paper (from left to right if you’re right-handed and right to left if you’re left-handed) leaving gaps beside each strip as wide as the strip itself.

·         In each gap, you’re going to repeat the strip to the right of the gap (unless you’re left-handed in which case you’ll repeat the strip to the left of the gap).

·         Layer one, first strip: look for any shapes you want to leave white (lightest) and make a pale wash which does that. Drop appropriate colours in and let them run. Do this for all four gaps.

·         Layer two: once dry, work back into each strip, deciding on which shapes can now be left un-painted (i.e. revealed).

·         Layer three: Look for some dark shapes and find any more shapes that need revealing (being painting around to reveal a lighter shape). Do this in each gap.

Next lesson: Finish this piece of work. If you’ve finished or will finish soon, being black pens, some tall self standing stems of foliage and large cartridge paper.