Abstract art: dry materials in response to stimuli
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can work into my abstract artwork using dry materials to create a variety of marks and textures.
Key learning points
- Artists often use dry materials to create definition in their work when responding to a stimuli.
- When working intuitively, we can work in an abstract way to reflect mood or energy, rather than realistic images.
- Using intuitive mark-making, artists let their materials and feelings guide the artwork
Keywords
Intuitive - creating without a set plan, making choices based on feeling, instinct, or the mood of the moment.
Define - to make something clearer or more detailed, often by adding lines, shapes, or contrast to show its form.
Dry materials - art materials that do not need water or liquid to work. They are used for drawing, shading and mark-making directly onto a surface.
Common misconception
You should only add layers to a painting with paint.
Dry materials can be used in a variety of ways to add detail and shading to an art work. Dry materials can be layered over the top of wet materials once dried. Examples include pastel over watercolour or pen over dried ink washes.
Teacher tip
Encourage students to be open-minded as they experiment with the different materials. Creating an example bank of materials and techniques is a useful tool to help students to plan and develop later artwork.
Equipment
Watercolour or ink, brushes, paper, colouring pencils, charcoal and oil pastels
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is an example of a dry material in art?
Q2.Put these steps in the correct order for blending with oil pastels:
Q3.Which dry material would be useful for creating a quick sketch?
Q4.How can you use dry materials on a dried painted surface? Select all that apply.
Q5.Match each dry material to the sentence that best describes how it is used:
Used for bold, smudgy marks and expressive drawing
Creates clean, detailed and controlled lines
Soft and dusty; good for blending on textured paper
Great for sketching and shading with control
Q6.Is a fineliner considered a dry material in art?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following best describes abstract art using dry materials?
Q2.Is it important to match your technique to the stimulus when using dry materials in abstract art?
Q3.Put these steps in the correct order to prepare your surface effectively:
Q4.How might you use a rubber to draw into a graphite background?
Q5.How do you create scumbling marks using a fineliner?
Q6.What does the word “intuitive” mean in art?
To help you plan your 8 art and design lesson on: Abstract art: dry materials in response to stimuli, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 art and design lesson on: Abstract art: dry materials in response to stimuli, 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 3 art and design lessons from the Abstract painting: sustainable materials unit, dive into the full secondary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.