Winter Birds
Second graders studied artists Charley Harper and James J. Audubon for this awesome lesson! The class learned about Audubon's very exact realistic style of drawing and painting and then compared his work to that of Charley Harper and his "Minimal Realism" style of work. Both artists created birds and other animals. Students created a background of birch trees using a dry brush technique and tempera paint. Next each student chose a bird or animal or portray using basic geometric shapes and added just enough detail so that the audience could tell which type of animal or bird was pictured. Shapes were cut from colored construction paper and some details were added with crayon.