Illuminated Letters - Extra Art

Long ago books were copied by hand.  Meaning, a person would re-write the book, slowly and carefully.  Besides writing all the words, they would also add drawings.

They would work hard, using calligraphy, to make the pages look like art. 

Usually at the beginning of each page, the scribe, would start with a huge letter.

They would sometimes add drawings inside and around the letter.

How long do you think it would take to make a book like this?

Would you enjoy reading a book like this?

Do you think lots of people had books? Or just a few?  Who would those people be?

Illustrated Letter Mrs. Wyman

Can you create a fancy letter?

What letter would you choose?

What images or pictures could you add? Why?

interesting website

K

brief history of Illuminated Manuscripts

Collagraph

Collagraph

A collage that you can print

 

Collagraph Video 

Painting with Tempera

Painting with tempera is very exciting and challenging!

Artists need to think carefully about their idea, to see if tempera is the right choice.
If your idea is small or has lots of details, drawing might be a better choice.

If your idea is a single image, and it's a simple shape, then tempera might be the perfect choice.

Lets look at some examples.

Landscapes are very interesting in tempera, just keep the parts of your landscape simple.

The colors of tempera always look exciting and vibrant, but not very realistic.

What if you used different colors like pink trees, yellow mountains and black rivers?

Sometimes artists like to fill their paper with colors, instead of making a picture.

That can be a good idea, as long as you have a plan for adding details later.

Maybe white brush strokes to create patterns and shapes?

Or take your painted paper to collage as a background?

 "Drawing" with a brush on top of colorful paper.

Spring Concert Artwork

The THEME of your spring concert is MUSIC

What are some of the songs you are learning?

ART can inspire MUSIC

This beautiful painting inspired a famous song called Claude Debussy’s La Mer.



Claude Debussy - La Mer

MUSIC can inspire ART

Kandinsky was a painter who would listen to music and try to paint what he heard.

Can you make a work of art with the theme of MUSIC?