Painted pickup - art in unexpected places - visual arts program for elementary school - Brief Article

Arts & Activities, June, 2001 by Kimberly Wheeler

Here in Washington state, where music is a part of the elementary curriculum but visual art is not, I have had to find ways to draw attention to my art program, which is supported by levy funds, PTA contributions and grants. Finding monetary support is a never-ending task, but through tireless effort, we are able to offer the children a great program.

After four years in this area, the program is now in five public and private schools. With a collection of art prints, I have created a curriculum that focuses on art history for children from kindergarten through sixth grade. I draw attention to my program by getting the art out of the classroom via public art, including murals, greeting cards, performances and art shows of the students' work. This is one of my efforts to make art more visible in this community.

This year, the city recreation director and I worked together to create after-school art classes for elementary-age children. We wanted to combine home-schooled children with private and public school students in one class. To this end, I offered a one-hour, weekly class for six weeks, called "Drawing and Painting for the Serious Young Art Student." It drew the combination of students I hoped to attain.

The class was filled with 12 enthusiastic children from different schools, and I wanted to bond them together through a unique art experience. My first thought was to do a mural, until my friend Jane drove by in the rusty yellow pickup truck she uses for her landscaping business. I asked her if she would like the students to paint van Gogh-like sunflowers over the truck's rust spots, and she enthusiastically agreed.

To prepare my students, I first gave them a paint-mixing lesson with tempera. After mixing colors true to the objects, they were to paint a still life featuring Indian corn, a pumpkin and a colorful place mat. This gave the students experience with mixing shades of orange, yellow and green. In the next lesson, we looked at a painting of sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh, examining the shapes of leaves and petals. I demonstrated how to hold the brush to dab colors for the center, and then how to use one brush stroke to make a leaf or petal. The lesson continued with a painting of sunflowers in tempera on paper.

In the third class, we prepared to paint the rusty truck. I paired up students from different schools. Then I gave them a palette of acrylic paint in white, yellow, yellow-orange, yellow-green and green, along with two round brushes (small and medium), water and rags to hang from their pockets. The truck was washed and ready for the artists to paint sunflowers around the bigger rust spots.

We only had the truck for two class sessions. In the first class, the students painted sunflowers around the bigger rust spots, adding details to the centers of the flowers and petals of yellow and yellow-orange. My job was to refill palettes and guide the students in their choices of shapes and colors. In the second class, the students were provided with dark colors like brown, purple and green (but not black: van Gogh didn't use much black). In that class, they added more definition to the flowers and combined the individual flowers into clusters.

If we had more time, the students could have done a more complete job. However, with children, too much time can also allow them to "overdo" and destroy the spontaneity of their painting. The children were thrilled with the challenge, and new friends were made as the pairs of painters discussed colors and approaches to file project. Painting a truck also added a seriousness to their artwork that they would not have given to a painting on paper.

The best part about the project is that Jane loves the unique touch to her truck. The sunflower painting also provides free publicity for my art classes, as well as a work of art that our small town of Port Townsend can enjoy.

Kimberly Wheeler is an art docent in Port Townsend, Wash.