Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today about local landscapes and painting them.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking, and exploring together in this lesson.

So, shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to plan and make a sketchbook for your landscape painting.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are concertina sketchbook, layout, scale.

I'm going to say those again and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Concertina sketchbook.

Layout.

Scale.

Good job.

Now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean by taking a look at their definitions.

A concertina sketchbook is a type of accordion-folded book, where pages are connected in a continuous, folding sequence.

Layout is the arrangement and organisation of visual elements within an artwork.

Scale is the size of an object or element in relation to other objects.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles we'll be working through together in today's lesson, making a concertina sketchbook and planning for your local landscape painting.

In the first learning cycle, we're going to have a go at making a concertina sketchbook.

Sometimes artists work in sketchbooks that they buy from a shop.

Artists can also make their own sketchbooks.

There are lots of ways to make your own sketchbook.

You can bind your pages together using string like the one in this image here.

You could extend the pages of your own sketchbook using flaps or pockets.

Can you see that pocket there on the front of this sketchbook? You can also make a concertina sketchbook.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Is this statement true or false? Artists can only work in sketchbooks purchased from a shop.

Is this true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that's false, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

But why is that statement false? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you discuss? Did you say that artists can work in lots of different styles of sketchbook, including ones that they have made themselves? If you have, well done.

This artist is making a concertina sketchbook.

They start by folding an A3 piece of paper in half.

They cut carefully along the fold, making two long pieces of paper.

So cutting along that long fold there you can see to cut that A3 paper in half.

You can see here how when they've cut along that fold carefully, they've made two long pieces of paper.

They measure three centimetres across at one end of the long paper and mark this with a pencil.

Can you see how that's being marked on there using that ruler to find three centimetres? They then glue the two pieces of paper end to end with a three-centimeter overlap.

So take a look at that diagram there.

Can you see where it's glued on and they've got that three-centimeter overlap? The artist should now have a long, thin piece of paper that looks like this.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which image shows the first step to making a concertina sketchbook? Is it A, B, or C? Pause the video here to give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said it's C, that's absolutely right.

The artist starts by folding their paper in half.

Next, they fold the paper in half, making a crease line.

So you've got your long strip of paper here and you're gonna fold it in half, making a crease line.

Using the centre crease line as a guide, they fold each end towards the centre.

So can you see here, the crease is in the middle there where that dashed purple line is, and you fold either end towards the centre.

The artist then needs to make the sketchbook into a concertina.

They fold one edge over to the next section line, then continue folding back and forth.

So can you see here how that's created that concertina? Now, Sam notices that the folds of her concertina sketchbook are not equal.

So what advice could we give her? So take a look there at how her concertina sketchbook, the fold has not quite gone right.

So what advice could we give her? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? What would be some good advice for Sam? Well, Aisha says, "Try to make sure that the fold is at a 90 degree angle so the fold is vertical and not diagonal.

That should help make it better!" Can we see here how Aisha's advice has helped Sam get that concertina equal again? So this brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to make a concertina sketchbook.

Start off by folding an A3 piece of paper in half and cut along the fold.

Then measure three centimetres across at one end of the long paper and mark this with a pencil.

Then glue the two pieces of paper end to end, with a three-centimeter overlap.

Then fold the paper in half, making a crease line.

Then using the centre crease line as a guide, fold each end towards the centre.

And finally, fold one edge over to the next section line, then continue folding back and forth.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at making a concertina sketchbook, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Well, your concertina sketchbook might look like this, so well done for having a go at making one.

This brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to plan for your local landscape painting.

Once an artist has an idea of their painting surface, they may want to think about their landscape layout.

A layout can be a plan, where artists think about organising the visual elements of their artwork.

You might decide which landscape, or landscapes, to depict in your layout plan.

Jacob says, "I will use this landscape, as I like the rolling hills." Can you see those rolling hills there in that landscape image? Which landscape might you use for your artwork? Is it going to be similar to Jacob's or maybe different? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your partner about what landscape you might use, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Did you decide to do something with rolling hills, or maybe a landscape that's a beach or a park? You might think about the colour palette you will use, including tints and shades, and make a note of your ideas in your layout plan.

So Jacob here, he has mixed the colours he could see in his landscape photograph.

So we've got some blues and greens, yellows and browns.

You might think about other artists whose work you enjoyed.

Jacob says, "I loved the clear shapes and bold lines of John Dyer.

I might use some of those ideas in my work." Aisha says, "I think the dark colours and hazy shapes of Norman Lewis were most interesting.

I might use a similar idea in my landscape painting." So remember, you could choose more than one artist to take inspiration from.

So you might include Norman Lewis and John Dyer's ideas.

You can add your inspiration from other artists to your layout plan by responding to their work practically.

You can see this practical response applying the artist's style on this first section of the concertina sketchbook.

Aisha has responded to the work of artist Norman Lewis in her layout plan.

She says, "I tried to use a dark colour palette with hazy shapes and blurred lines a bit like Norman Lewis for my landscape view of the sea." Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

In your artwork, you might take inspiration from other artists you have looked at.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that's true, you're absolutely right, well done.

Why is that statement true? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you discuss? Maybe you said you can take inspiration from one or more artists if you choose to.

You may respond to their work by using a similar style or colour palette.

Finally, you might want to think about the scale of your work.

This means considering the size of your landscape.

You might choose to paint a section of the landscape on each page of your sketchbook, you might paint the whole landscape on each page of your sketchbook, or you might use a combination of both of these ideas.

You can add your ideas for scale to your layout.

So Jacob says, "I'm going to use segments of my landscape photograph to inspire my painting." So maybe taking a look at the trees and the hedges and that grass and those rolling hills, seeing all of those different segments there that Jacob could use to inspire his painting.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which of these ideas might you need to think about in your layout for your landscape? The colours, including tints and shades, the work of other artists, the scale of your artwork, or all of the above? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said all of the above, you're absolutely right.

Artists need to think about lots of different visual elements when planning their layout.

This brings us to our final task.

I'd like you to plan the layout of your concertina sketchbook landscape painting.

You might want to think about: the colours, including tints and shades, the work of other artists, and the scale of your artwork.

Think about the different ideas that you've got, using different segments in different parts of your artwork, using one or more artists' ideas, and the colours, thinking about those different tints and shades, adding the black for those darker shades and the white for those lighter tints.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to plan the layout of your concertina sketchbook landscape painting, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Were you able to think about those different elements in your plan? Well, your layout plan might include these things.

Inspiration from other artists.

Maybe you've practised that.

The colours that you've planned to use, so you might have blues or yellows or greens.

And the scale of the landscape you will use, thinking about how you would include it across different pages.

Well done for planning your layout in your concertina sketchbook.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learnt about laying the foundations for a local landscape painting.

Artists can make their own concertina sketchbooks for their artwork.

Artists might plan using a layout, where they consider the visual elements of their artwork.

And artists can choose the scale of their landscape, either using segments, or a whole image, to take inspiration from.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.