Teach Primary Issue 18.4

• Can you explain how warm colours make you feel? • If you were to create a cool, moon version of your painting, which colours would you choose? Why? • Do you like Alma Thomas’ artwork? Can you explain why? only does yellow suit the hazy heat of the sun’s surroundings, it also allows all the other hues in the pupils’ fiery palettes to show up when painted on top of it. Encourage your pupils to paint the whole piece of paper, leaving no white spaces in between the yellow. 3 | HERE IT COMES Once the backing is dry, it’s time to place the sun in the middle of it. Pupils can choose a colour from their palette to use to paint the central circle – the sun – in the middle of their page, just as Alma did a traffic light orange! 2 | GET CREATIVE Now it’s time to get started on the artwork. For best results, use cartridge paper for these creations; any size will suit. Share some of Alma Thomas’ concentric circle artworks ( tinyurl.com/ tp-AlmaT ) with your pupils to demonstrate the style of painting and to act as inspiration. Discuss their main features, drawing attention to the shapes and marks used in each. The background needs to be painted first and, if possible, given time to dry adequately before children move on to the next stage – the painting of the sun. This background is a representation of the solar atmosphere; yellow is a good choice of colour for this. Not • Explore the art world of Alma Thomas further with your class. There are many paintings to study and admire. After exposure to her creations, provide your pupils with paints, brushes and canvases to paint as they wish, inspired by Alma. • Use books and the internet to research Alma’s story. It is a truly inspiring one of resilience, bravery and a love of art. The picture book Alma’s Art by Roda Ahmed and Anita Cheung is a good place to start. • How have other artists painted the sun? Share some sunny pictures with your class. Which ones do they like best? Paintings to share could include The Sun (1909) by Edvard Munch, The Sower with Setting Sun (1888) by Vincent Van Gogh and The Red Sun (1948) by Joan Miro. EXTENDING THE LESSON in her artworks. This circle will act as a guide for the subsequent circles painted around it. The first circle is a block of colour, the circles around the outside are to be made from dash brushstrokes. You may wish to give your pupils the opportunity to practise these dashes before they paint them on their sun composition. To create a dash, pupils need to load (not overload) their brushes with paint and make gentle, sweeping motions to apply it to the paper. Different size brushes will create strokes of different thicknesses and add interest to the final piece. Once the central circle is painted, pupils can select the next colour from their palette to form their first dash circle. Encourage them to work carefully, keeping the dashes close to the central circle but not touching it. They may find turning the paper as they go helps them to control the marks that they make. Once this circle is complete, it’s time to paint the next one! Pupils should select another colour from their palette and paint the next ring of dashes. Repeat this process until the artwork is complete: depending on the thickness of the dash strokes, around six to eight rings will create a striking effect. Adele Darlington is an experienced teacher, art lead and primary art consultant. She is also the author of the Bloomsbury title 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Art . “Temperatures inside will soar as the warm colours of red, yellowand orange dance out of the paint palettes” USEFUL QUESTIONS www.teachwire.net | 75