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Lesson 1 of 4
  • Year 6

Painting a portrait with colour and feeling

I can create a layered portrait to explore how colour and paint share emotion and identity.

Lesson 1 of 4
New
New
  • Year 6

Painting a portrait with colour and feeling

I can create a layered portrait to explore how colour and paint share emotion and identity.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Paint can be used to explore place, memory or feeling.
  2. A colour wash can shape the mood of a portrait.
  3. Emotional tone can be suggested through restraint, layering and colour.
  4. 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.


To help you plan your year 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...

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.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Primed canvas or thick paper, watercolour, paint brushes, water, pencil or graphite stick

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is a portrait usually a picture of?

a place
an object
Correct answer: a person
a building

Q2.
Which of these is not a painting material?

watercolour
acrylic
Correct answer: crayon
oil paint

Q3.
Artists sometimes use __________ to show different feelings.

Correct answer: colours
paintbrushes
canvas
white

Q4.
Which of these colours is a primary colour?

purple
green
Correct answer: red
orange

Q5.
What do artists often use to mix paint colours?

scissors
water
a pencil
Correct answer: a palette

Q6.
What is a self-portrait?

a painting of someone famous
a drawing of your house
Correct answer: a picture an artist makes of themselves
a picture of an animal

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
Paint can be used to explore place, memory or ...

Correct Answer: feelings, emotion

Q2.
What is a colour wash?

A thick layer of paint to cover mistakes
A black outline to make features stand out
Correct answer: A thin, watery layer of paint to add tone or mood

Q3.
Using a colour wash can change how a portrait ...

tone
Correct answer: feels
sits
expression

Q4.
What does the word “restraint” mean in art?

Using every colour you have
Making your painting very fast
Correct answer: Using a small amount of something on purpose
Painting inside the lines only

Q5.
Which statement is true about portraits in art?

A portrait must look exactly like a real person to be meaningful.
A portrait is only good if it’s neat and realistic.
Correct answer: Portraits can show emotion, memory, or story, even if they don’t look realistic.
Portraits are just for showing famous people.

Q6.
Which of these helps show emotional tone in a portrait?

Correct answer: Layering soft and bold colours carefully
Drawing the nose first
Using rulers and measuring tools
Writing a title for the portrait