PAINTED PAPER: Mixed Media and Expressionism Landscapes

Are you looking to brighten up your classroom or creative space this winter? Well, you have come to just the right place. My students have been busy creating some fun, mixed media landscapes inspired by German Expressionist artists. Their love of color and bold patterns is expressed on their canvases.

This project requires lots of little hands creating many parts to create a whole large scale mural.

First, 1st graders created these fun painted paper houses. These are made from old placemats we use when painting and some painted paper scraps for roofs.

Next, a 2nd grade class made these bold, brushstroke skies. Lots of color mixing and movement can be found in these beauties.

Monochromatic Green Grounds

Directions

Using rulers and pencils, students divided up a large long piece of paper. Next, using large brushes, students painted in the shapes with various shades of green. They mixed in whites and blues for added interest.

Another fun project is chalk and tempera paint clouds. These were created by my 1st grade students in about 30 minutes. Perfect for an added touch to the mural.

Directions

On 6" x 12" drawing paper, sketch out a large puffy cloud. Using chalk pastels, lightly shade the cloud in with one color. Next, outline the cloud using bright, colorful tempera paints.

Glue the sky and the green ground together. Have students cut out the other small details and glue down.

Don’t forget some fun trees for your landscape too! These were made by 1st graders.

Directions

First, create triangles and stack on top of each other to make a tree. Next, use tempera paint and fill in the triangle shapes. Stamp the edge of the tree with a piece of cardboard edge with a darker color paint to outline the tree. Use oil pastels in various shades of green and create little lines to represent the needles of a tree.