Going Dotty over Paul Signac!

Image via Wikipedia

This month we study Paul Signac,

a Neo-Impressionist, famous for his pointillist technique.

I am so glad we have a computer because we could really zoom in on his paintings!  We examined the precise method he used of putting pure colours next to each other.  He did not mix his paints, but allowed our eyes to blend the coloured dots together.  We especially enjoyed viewing this in the painting Women at the Well at Colour Vision & Art as they have 3 increasing zoom views of this painting.

I read his biography and looked at some of his paintings at Renoir Fine Art Inc.  The children wrote a brief biography on their Famous Impressionist Artists Biography pages and made the little minibook for this artist from the lapbook download.

We chose a clear painting from my coffee table book Impressionist Painters by Guy Jennings.  Both girls loved the picture of Woman Doing Her Hair.  I had traced and enlarged this picture for them.  (I traced the picture of Lighthouse at Potrieux as an alternative.)  I wanted to save time with the drawing and get straight to painting.

Here is your pdf. download: Signac Outlines

We first painted flat areas of basic colours with water colours.

Then we used acrylic paints.

With small dots of the basic colours and the tip of small paintbrushes, we began the time-consuming task of dotting the colours next to each other to create different blends.  We all, at different periods in the process, felt unsure and unhappy with our dots, but we pressed on and completed the work and solved the difficulty.

Although we did not match his original painting as perfectly as we had hoped, we all sincerely congratulated Signac for painting large canvases and themes this way.

Art appreciation does not mean that you have to do the art lessons, but I find that it really helps the child identify more closely with the masterpiece and the artist.

I trust that my children recognise his works and his techniques as they study him during the rest of the month.

It is simple enough to read, look carefully, narrate or discuss great art!  I hope you are encouraged to add art appreciation to your weeks!  Pop over to my Art Ideas Pages for other art appreciation posts.

Join the Charlotte Mason Carnival on 3 May for all the Art Appreciation submissions.  Click here  if you wish to submit your own post to this carnival.

Blessings,