Paul Klee Elementary Art Lesson Pre-K to 6th Grade

 

Josey’s Art School

Presents

Studying Art with the Masters

By

Robin Norgren, M.A.

This Lesson: Paul Klee

Masks in Twilight

Paul Klee   b.1879

Masken im Zwielicht (Masks in Twilight), 1938

Oil on paste board

Discussion

·        Artist Paul Klee said, ‘a line is a dot that went for a walk’. This is often what happens with a doodle…you don’t plan to draw; your pencil just seems to wander off across the paper. This drawing is made from an almost unbroken line that makes a series of round-cornered boxes. The artist then added stick legs and eyes to make the shapes into a quirky character.

·        While he is remembered as a skilled artist capable of mastering a wide range of styles, with a sharp eye for colors, Klee wasn’t always confident in his abilities as a painter.

·       The painter himself took note of that change and wrote in a diary entry: “Color has taken possession of me; no longer do I have to chase after it, I know that it has hold of me forever... Color and I are one. I am a painter.

SOURCE: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/paul-klee-google-doodle-art-paintings-death-cubism-surrealist-expressionism-switzerland-hitler-a8687286.html

 


Materials needed

Pencil (make sure to write the child’s name on the back of the work)

Black pen (optional)

1 piece - 8.5x11 piece of heavy weighted paper; perhaps watercolor but more weight than copy paper.

1 separate of scrapbook paper

Scrapbook paper scraps

This is a lesson that can be adapted in many ways depending on the age and skill level of your classroom. 

Watercolor paint 

Water bowls

Water

Paint brushes of varying sizes

OPTIONAL: crayons, markers, colored pencils if watercolor paints are not available

Scissors

glue

Aprons

Length of Time/Duration of project:

30-40 minutes

Prep work:

Gather the materials

Create a sample

This should take no more than about 20 -30 minutes

 

Instructions

1.Take your piece of 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.This lesson has a directed drawing component to it.  Place your paper SHORT side down on the table.  Create a dome on the page for the body.

 

 


 3.Add arms reaching up to the top of the page. Add hands.

 

 

4.Create the eyes and add some details.


 

5.Create some funky brows.  And create a funky nose.

 

6.Now add the mouth. Add some funky gear like details.

 

7.Here are some examples. 

 

 

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