Year 7 Visual Art
Project 2: Pop Art Acrylic Painting
Learning Intentions:
1. To gain an appreciation of the Pop art movement by identifying some of the
leading Pop Art artists and key features of their artworks.
2. To explore art elements such as: line, shape, tone and colour and its importance
within portraiture.
3. To develop painting techniques with a particular focus on brush work and colour
mixing.
Lesson 1:
1. Take a photo of yourself or a friend on your IPad (or open a saved photo file)
(Front on pose, head and shoulders, good tone: showing highlights and shadows)
2. Open the Hope Poster App and edit your photo to show at least 3 different
colours/tones. (See handout and example below)
Lesson 1 Continued:
3. Collect your A3 printed image.
4. Turn the print over and shade the entire blank side with a bright pastel.
5. Place the A3 print pastel side down on top of your canvas board. Stick a piece of
masking tape at the top, sealing the paper to the canvas. This will allow you to lift
your paper and check that the transferring technique is working.
6. Use a sharp pencil to trace all contour lines of the printed image. Pay particular
attention to the small details and follow all shapes carefully.
7. Remove the masking tape.
8. Spray your work with fixative to seal your contour drawing.
Lesson 2
1. Use the tonal scale provided to number each section on your canvas.
Use number 1 for the lightest tone/ highlights, 2 mid-tones, 3 darkest
tones/shadow. Show a minimum of 3 tones and a maximum of 7. You can choose
to simplify your painting by combining similar tones into one. Check with your
teacher after you have completed this step.
2. Discussion of colours and acrylic paints. Use a page in your visual diary to
complete colour trials. Record the combinations of colours used and the
approximate ratio of each.
Lesson 3
1. Map in the darkest colour.
2. Discussion on painting techniques used to create sharp lines and flat texture.
View your portrait like a Topographic map from a bird’s eye view. Focus on the
shape of what you are painting.
If you are having difficulty or have lost the underlying transfer, try the technique
of painting upside down. This forces you to paint what you see, rather than what
you think you see.
Lesson 4
1. Pop Art research lesson. See attachment.
2. Discussion and class time used to begin write up.
Lesson 5 and 6
1. Using your reference photo, continue to study and focus on accurately
representing all shapes and contour lines.
2. Map in and paint the mid tones/colours (example mapping numbers 3 and 2)
3. Discussion of the colour wheel and complementary colours.
4. Demonstration of colour mixing.
5. Remember that acrylic paints dry 2 to 3 shades darker, so use white when mixing
to counteract this.
Lesson 7
1. Using your reference photo, continue to study and focus on accurately
representing all shapes and contour lines.
2. Map in and paint the lightest colours and highlights.
3. Paint your background in a complementary colour
Lesson 8
1. Evaluation and reflection (PMI table and challenges)
2. Discussion of answers to Pop Art research.
Materials:
A3 Canvas boards (Zart Art), Acrylic paints, Brushes, Masking tape, Pastels, Fixative,
Pencils, Paper (printed image), Laser printer, Hope poster App, Ipad,
Notes:
After the first lesson, students emailed through their work, which I then edited in
Photoshop. Photos were cropped and printed in A3. At least two copies were needed.
One which was coloured in pastel and disposed of, and the other which was used as a
reference when painting.
Prior Knowledge:
Introductory lessons were used to develop students’ skills in drawing and painting.
1. Exercises on observational drawing using contour lines.
2. Tonal variation worksheets; shading spheres, cuboids and cylinders.
3. Painting practice: painting a skull in greyscale (3 tones)
Rebecca Amsha
Huntingtower