Day 4

Day 4: Mural Design, Part II

Goal: Students will be able to understand the elements of perspective- Background, Middle ground, and Foreground, and apply these ideas to their group mural design. 

Estimated time: 45-60 minutes

• Looking at the artwork by Tim Missel and James Adcox, tell students they will look carefully at the murals to understand how perspective creates an illusion of space. Artists can use size, overlapping, and placement to show perspective (look at perspective poster). 

• Explain that things NEAR to us are in the FOREGROUND. Have students point out things from the murals that are in the foreground. PLACEMENT of objects in a mural is important to show perspective. Objects in the FOREGROUND often OVERLAP or are in front of objects behind them. 

•  What foreground objects are overlapping the MIDDLE GROUND objects? The middle ground is found in the middle or center area of a painting. Have students point out details from the mural that are in the middle ground. 

•  The boats and the mountains are far away so they appear very small in size. They are placed in the BACKGROUND near the top of the painting.

•  SIZE ILLUSION EXPERIMENT: Stand at opposite end of the room from the students. Students should extend their arms with fingers spread out to look through their fingers at the teacher. Which is larger – the students hand or the teacher? Let the students explain why their hands are larger than the teacher. 

• Using knowledge of Background, Middle ground, Foreground, Overlap and Placement, students will begin revising their designs with their groups to reflect the elements of perspective. 

• Groups will enlarge their designs, sketching them on butcher paper.  Emphasize the idea of completing a rough SKETCH so that students don’t spend too much time worrying about details. They will paint these later. 

Materials 

See Materials section, Day 4

Vocabulary

muralist

mural

perspective

foreground

middleground

background

overlapping

placement

sketch

*Lesson adapted from Linda Pfisterer, Project Articulate kit Murals of Our Towns and Villages