Painting a portrait with colour and feeling
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can create a layered portrait to explore how colour and paint share emotion and identity.
Key learning points
- Paint can be used to explore place, memory or feeling.
- A colour wash can shape the mood of a portrait.
- Emotional tone can be suggested through restraint, layering and colour.
- Strong colours can suggest presence, emphasis or absence.
Keywords
Colour wash - a thin, watery layer of paint brushed over a surface to add soft colour or tone
Pigment - the colour part of paint that makes it bright or bold
Tone - how light or dark a colour is
Restraint - using a small amount of something on purpose
Common misconception
A portrait has to look real or neat to show who someone is.
Portraits can show feeling, memory, or mood without looking realistic. Artists use colour, texture and shape to tell a story about the person.
Teacher tip
Using too much water can make the paper become soggy. This might make it wrinkle, tear, or stop the paint from spreading evenly. Encourage pupils to use a damp brush, not a dripping one.
Equipment
Primed canvas or thick paper, watercolour, paint brushes, water, pencil or graphite stick
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a portrait usually a picture of?
Q2.Which of these is not a painting material?
Q3.Artists sometimes use __________ to show different feelings.
Q4.Which of these colours is a primary colour?
Q5.What do artists often use to mix paint colours?
Q6.What is a self-portrait?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Paint can be used to explore place, memory or ...
Q2.What is a colour wash?
Q3.Using a colour wash can change how a portrait ...
Q4.What does the word “restraint” mean in art?
Q5.Which statement is true about portraits in art?
Q6.Which of these helps show emotional tone in a portrait?
To help you plan your 6 art and design lesson on: Painting a portrait with colour and feeling, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 art and design lesson on: Painting a portrait with colour and feeling, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 art and design lessons from the Charting self: exploring portrait and identity unit, dive into the full primary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.