Lines and Patterns with Vincent Van Gogh

We began this lesson with an introduction to the artwork and life of the artist Vincent Van Gogh. In the presentation, the students were able to identify the different shapes, lines, colors and patterns that they see in the artwork. We then explored in a little bit more depth, his self portraits. Van Gogh was able to use lines and movement even in the most still of positions. He was able to capture the intensity of his feeling or emotion at that exact moment in time. After a brief biography video, students turned to their sketchbooks to start creating. Using a worksheet that is glued into their sketchbooks, students will create a chart of different line patterns, inspired by Van Gogh's artwork of course. They will use the exact feeling they felt during class to give them the basis of their lines. From here, the students will take a photograph in a position of their choosing for their own self portrait. They will cut out everything but their face neck and shoulders from the printed photo. After gluing their faces to their papers, they will add in their hair, shirts and background using the Van Gogh inspired line patterns they created in their sketchbooks. 

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ART WORDS:
self portrait: a portrait of ones self.
brushstroke: the line a brush makes when painting.
composition: the plan or blueprint of an artwork, how you set up an artwork.
pattern: a repetition of something

click the links below to check out the presentation and video the students received on Vincent Van Gogh:

Van Gogh Powerpoint

Van Gogh Biography Video

Fun Cartoon video of Van Gogh to watch at home!

Here is a short video of the creation process for this project!