Investigating landscapes

Investigate clues that make up a great landscape artwork!

Student visual arts resource developed by The Arts Unit

Years 5 and 6 visual arts

You will:

investigate landscape subject matter to make artworks reflecting on foreground, midground and background
create artworks for particular purposes.

Welcome to the class

Duration: 00:39

You will need:

a notebook (as used by detectives to write down clues in solving a crime) or make a detective's notebook out of sheets of paper
paper, pens and a lead pencil
paints (preferably acrylic) or coloured pencils or textas
magazines or old calendars with pictures of landscapes in them. You could print landscapes you have found online.
newspaper or plastic to keep your work space clean
a phone or camera to take photos.

Elements of a landscape artwork

A landscape artwork includes 3 elements:

Can you find at least 10 different objects that you can see in the 'Lachlan River, Our Childhood Dreams' landscape painting?

Draw and name them in your notebook.

How observant are you?

Lachlan River, Our Childhood Dreams

Elaine Russell Operation Art

Chook in the Farmyard

Fiona ManthosOperation Art

Compare the 'Chook in the Farmyard' landscape painting with the 'Lachlan River, Our Childhood Dreams' landscape painting and look for clues.

Draw and name them in your notebook.

Examine the scene in each of the landscape photos in the carousel.

Identify the location of each landscape in your notebook.

Find and make a collection of landscape images you can find using magazines, photographs, or on the internet.

Using your favourite landscape from either these images or one that you have found, study the image and make a list in your notebook of:

It is time to solve the case and create your favourite landscape yourself!

Take a sheet of paper and place it in a landscape position on a flat surface, ready to draw.

Step 1. While looking at your landscape picture, follow the instructions below to create the outline for your landscape artwork.

Draw on your paper the objects in your favourite landscape in the foreground.

Draw on your paper the objects in your favourite landscape in the midground.

Draw on your paper the objects in your favourite landscape in the background.

Step 2. Add some details to what you have drawn by including more elements to your landscape.

Step 3. Using your paints (or textas or coloured pencils) colour your landscape by using bold bright colours.

When colouring, work from the background of your landscape forward to the foreground of your artwork as this makes it easier to join the sections of the composition by overlapping the paint.
Observe how Elaine outlines the clouds, mountains, bushes and trees to add highlights to these features in 'Lachlan River, Our Childhood Dreams' above. You could outline the features in black that are important in your landscape, or any colour you choose.