AERIAL PERSPECTIVE ARTISTRY
Imagine being lured into a land- scape capable of captivating you with its sense of aerial perspec- tive. Look no further! This lesson
will enable your students to enchant
viewers with their work. A lesson like
this serves to develop students’ visual
perception by studying reproductions
by famous artists.
While this activity emulates
characteristics of famous works, it
also allows individual creativity to
blossom. The combination of studying the characteristics of existing
Linda Wolfe
work, as well as encouraging creative
self-expression expands students’
understanding and appreciation of art.
Students will also love using waxed
paper in an unusual way.
A quality art lesson should provide
ways for students to communicate
their ideas and feelings. I believe it
comes very naturally for children, as
how can one help but allow their use
of line, shape, and color to express
what words cannot say?
Guide your students to discuss
what each artist did to create aerial
perspective in his or her artwork. Students will find that the foregrounds
are dark and distinct, whereas the
backgrounds are lighter and less
detailed. They will also notice that
parts of the landscapes appear to be
stacked in layers with more distant
parts being higher on the page.
Motivating Activity
Display several art history selections
that illustrate good aerial perspective
(see Resources for examples). Posters
are good, as is projecting images from
the Internet.
Creating a Background
Students will create a landscape from
imagination. They will choose a sheet
of 12 x 18" ( 30 x 46 cm) construction
paper that will represent a major color
of the background. More than likely,
it will be the color they want for their
sky. Using construction paper scraps
of various colors, students will cut
out landscape elements, which will be
added to the background. Many times
