Lesson 6: Patterned Still-Life

Objective: To have children paint a still-life with repetition, rhythm, and/or pattern.

Vocabulary:

design principles - The ways that artists use art elements in an artwork. The principles of design are repetition, pattern, rhythm, movement, balance, contrast, emphasis, proportion, scale, variety, and unity.

grid - A pattern of squares of equal size.

motif - A shape, design, or object that is repeated in several places in an artwork.

pattern - A design made up of repeated lines, shapes, colors, or forms.

repetition - the use of lines, shapes, colors, or forms more than once.

rhythm - Repeating art elements (dots, lines, shapes, forms, space, textures, colors, values, and time) in various ways or the sense of movement created by repeated art elements.

still-life - An artwork that shows a group of objects placed together in an interesting way.

Abstract #4 by Marilee Whitehouse-Holm
gouache and oil pastel on paper
16" x 22"
Private Collection

Patterns in Paintings

Artists repeat lines, shapes, colors, and forms in their artworks to create patterns. Some artists imagine new and unusual patterns, while others paint the patterns they see around them.

Grid Patterns
Look at Abstract #4 by Marilee Whitehouse-Holm. How would you describe the patterns the artist created? What repeating lines, shapes, and colors do you see? Notice the way the shapes are lines up in horizontal rows and vertical columns. When rows and columns cross, they form a grid like the pattern on graph paper. If the artist had added another row or column to Abstract #4, what do you think it would look like?

Variation VI by Wassily Kandinsky
1924, ink and watercolorBauhaus Archive, Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Motifs
In Variation VI, Wassily Kandinsky used patterns in certain areas of the artwork. Find the stripes of color in Variation VI. In this artwork, stripes are a motif. Motifs are repeated lines, shapes, or objects that help organize a composition. Which stripes in Variation VI are horizontal? Which are diagonal? Where did the artist repeat stripes in a circle? Look for another motif in Variation VI.

Apples and Oranges by Paul Cezanne
1895-1900, oil on canvas29 1/8" x 36 5/8"Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France

Realistic Patterns
Artists often include realistic patterns in paintings, such as the still-life Apples and Oranges by Paul Cezanne. Long ago a still-life always included objects that were once alive, such as fruit or flowers. Today the term still-life applies to any painting whose subject is a group of objects.
Notice the way the artist of Apples and Oranges arranged the fruit into groups. Count the pieces of fruit in front of the pitcher. Now count the pieces of fruit in the tall bowl. How did the artist use the fruit to create a pattern?

Think Critically - Tell what you learned.

Studio Time: Patterned Still-Life

Materials:

Small Classroom Objects, White Paper, Pencils, Watercolors, Paintbrushes, Water Bowls

Plan

Collect a group of similar objects, such as boxes, balls, and cans. Arrange the objects on a table. Create a pattern by grouping similar objects together.
Check list:
- Group similar objects together.
- Create a still-life that shows repetition, rhythm, and/or pattern by repeating line, color, and shape.

Create

Sketch your arrangement on white paper.
Choose colors for your objects that will help create additional patterns.

3. Use watercolors to paint your still-life.

Teacher Example

Create a still-life that show repetition, pattern, and rhythm.

Sketch your still-life.

Reflect - Tell about your artwork.

Photograph and Submit your artwork on Google Classroom.

Photograph sketches as well as completed artwork.
"Add" (attach) to Google Classroom assignment.
"Mark as done" to submit your work for a grade.

Challenge: Patterned Paper Design

Create a patterned paper folded into quarters with four different patterns each with a different color scheme, then cut apart sections, cut-out shapes, assemble onto a new piece of paper.

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