Josey’s Art School
Presents
Studying Art with the Masters
By
Robin Norgren, M.A.
This Lesson:
James Rizzi: “Cruising on a Love Boat”
Discussion
· James Rizzi is famous for his linear, childlike style, vibrant colors and zany imagery. His work was described by the critic Glenn O'Brien as a cross between Picasso and Hanna-Barbera.
· Rizzi himself listed his idols as Paul Klee, Jean Dubuffet, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol and Bugs Bunny.
· He developed his talent for the eye-catching and the quirky, notably for corporations in Japan. There, Rizzi worked with considerable success on television films, puzzle designs, restaurant menus, a whisky company calendar and the cover of a dictionary.
· In 1996 he achieved his most high-profile job, as official artist for the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. He created a series of paintings of the opening ceremony that are now in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. The "Olympic spirit" and Rizzi's art were a perfect match.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/dec/30/james-rizzi
Materials needed
Pencil (to write the child’s name on the back of the work)
8.5x11 sheet of copy paper
11x14 white cardstock/precut poster board/140lb watercolor paper – something with a bit more stability to it than copy paper in order to withstand the amount of paint and glue your students will be using. You will need enough for each participant to use as the base for his/her artwork
Paintbrushes and water bowls
Foam brushes
Watercolor paints
Blue, White and yellow tempura paint
Oil pastels/crayons
Ruler (optional – you may choose the draw the line dividing the page for the younger students or allow the students to free draw the lines).
Baby wipes
Aprons
Length of Time/Duration of project:
40 minutes
Prep work:
- Draw the water line.
This should take no more than about 15 minutes
Instructions
You have a few options for how you want to proceed with developing the main thrust of the project. I work with 3-5 year olds in a Montessori setting. This means that you are met with a gamut of skill levels. Some children will have no problem handling more of the details of this project which means less time needed to prep and more of the experience for the way the artistic process works is offered to the child. I have attempted to give you two ends of the spectrum but please feel free to modify as needed.
1. Take your piece of white paper that you are using as the base for the project and write the child’s name on the back of the paper or let them write their names on their own.
2.Take your copy paper and place it in front of you. Mix your blue and yellow paint together to create green. With foam brush, paint blue and green paint on the page in wide strokes, filling the page. Let Dry.
3.Place your 11x14 piece of paper in front of you. Draw a horizontal line about 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the page.
4.Now we begin the directed line drawing of the painting. Draw the shape of a bowl in top of the line. I would use the words “above the line” after being certain the students understand what that means.
5.Draw a straight horizontal line slightly smaller than the boat. Connect the line to the boat with two curved vertical lines. Draw 2 parallel curved lines inside the body of the boat.
6.Draw portholes and a deck.
7.Draw smokestacks and smoke.
8.Tear the dried copy paper into 5 horizontal strips and mix them up.
9.Glue the strips in random order underneath the boat. Trace the details of the boat with oil pastel or crayons. Paint the boat and the background with watercolor paint. Older artists can add more detail from the Rizzi painting to their own.
Find all my art lessons over on Teachers Pay Teachers:
CLICK HERE: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Joseys-Art-School
Look at my free art videos on YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbQExZltWJHERASlzbZ6nLtjeqvpAgLY7