Contemporary Artists

Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2

In this unit, students will be introduced to the artworks of USA artist Jim Dine. His pop art heart works are bright and colourful, and we’ll be making a heart artwork using drawing and collage. Takashi Murakami is a Japanese Artist Famous for his colourful, anime inspired artworks. We’ll look at his happy flower artworks and create our own drawing inspired by these. Takashi Murakami is another USA artist, his work is all about food, a topic that kids find very engaging! We’ll create two ice cream cones with raised, dripping ice cream in this mixed media work with printmaking and collage techniques.  

We’ll be looking at colour, shape and composition in these three works while developing drawing and cutting skills. Hearts, flowers and ice cream cones, what’s not to love?

Grade 3 and 4

Learn about Australian Artist Casey Manson, AKA Grotti Lotti. Paint a fun budgerigar in your chosen colour scheme in Grotti Lotti’s loose and expressive style. Use vibrant colour and a range of different painting techniques to create texture and interest and add drawing details to complete the artwork.

Learn about famous Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and create a stunning portrait of this icon of art. Use her signature polka dots or snake like patterns to create a background and then draw her portrait complete with large sunglasses. Use drawing and painting techniques to create this work.

Grade 5 and 6

Be inspired by contemporary USA artist Grant Haffner and his stunning landscape paintings. Students can create their own country landscape inspired by the colours of dawn or dusk using paint scraping techniques and vibrant colour. we’ll add drawing details and learn about perspective in this fun art lesson.

Sandrine Pelissier is a French and Canadian artist. She creates imaginary flower paintings with vibrant colours which bring to life a vase of whimsical blooms. This is a different way to approach painting, beginning with a colourful background and finding the flower shapes within the colours. We’ll then paint in the negative spaces leaving the flowers as the focal point. Add a vase and table top to to complete the composition. Add pattern and detail reminiscent of fabric and ceramic artworks.

Students will learn about colour, shape, pattern, repetition, perspective and composition in these two exciting art projects.