Let's run todays Art Flash Cards First, shall we?
Say each one aloud (it is really important to say them aloud as your eyes are looking at them. Trust me. It's true.)
Today we add a new artist to our growing list: Georges Seurat.
George Seurat
"La Grande Jatte"
(Pronounced, "La Grond jot")
"La Grande Jatte" close up.
George Seurat
"La Chahut"
(Pronounced, "La shah-ooo")
"La Chahut" close up.
George Seurat was a pointillist. Pointilism is similar to impressionism in that it is used to capture light using tiny dots of paint to represent how the colours change depending upon how the light affects them. When you stand close up, or look closely at a section of an impressionistic or pointilist painting it is more difficult to make sense of the image you are looking at. If you step back, the full image begins to emerge and make sense to the brain and the eye.
We jokingly refer to George Seurat as "Seurat-the-dot". To help us remember that his art style is pointillism, or 'dots".
(All though his name is normally pronounced, "Syoo-RAH".)
To learn more about George Seurat you can visit
this site.
As an activity, you may wish to make your own pointillistic work of art. If you have paint, that's perfect! If you don't have paint, you can use markers (just make sure you have some news paper underneath because markers bleed through to the other side and you don't want to ruin your desk or table.) You can also use crayons and draw teeny tiny circles for the"dots". If you really want to be crazy...if you have a hole punch, you can use your crayons to colour entire sheets of paper and then hole punch them. Use the little paper circles and a glue stick to make your pointellistic image. Also, if you have coloured paper you can use the hole punch to create your "dots" that way too.
You can also use dried beans of different colours to make an image. If you used white beans you could colour them. You could even use beads, glued onto the page. What about tiny little rocks you find in your driveway? Be creative!
Have fun with todays activity!
And remember - wash your hands. The artists we have studied were not very good at washing their hands. And where are they today, hmmm? Yeah. Think about that. ;o)
