Class 3 have been studying the main features, techniques, influences, and intentions of different art styles, mainly under the umbrella of abstract art, and spent a week echoing these styles within their own artworks.
After developing an understanding of a selection of art styles, they looked, in more detail, into the background and works of the most famous artists of these movements, starting with Post-Impressionism and Vincent Van Gogh. We singled out one of Van Gogh's most recognisable paintings 'Starry Night' as inspiration for class 3's own post-impressionist landscapes.
The second art style the class explored and imitated was Cubism, looking closely at the life and works Pablo Picasso. The options were to produce a cubist painting of either a portrait, self-portrait, an animal, or an object. The class transitioned very quickly to such a contrasting style from the previous day, adopting the characteristics and approach of Cubism in their paintings.
Moving away from abstract art briefly, the class then delved into the Realism paintings of Edward Hopper and created their own realist paintings of figures and objects that they could directly see, inspired by Hopper's themes and subjects such as solitary figures and the window casting light and shadow.
Finally, Surrealism by Salvador Dali was our inspiration for combining the three previous art style paintings together, to create one complete Surrealist painting per pupil. They achieved this by carefully cutting out the figures and objects that they had painted in a Cubist and realist style, then thoughtfully composed them within their Post-Impressionist landscapes to create a Surrealist dream world final piece.
Shifting from drawing upon their imagination, to using their artistic eye to duplicate what they could see in front of them, and using the same medium throughout, was a challenge that class 3 not only stepped up to but truly accomplished!
