track-a unit-1 age-3 van gogh 10-adult (2) a/unit_1/track... · vincent van gogh – a ges 10 – a...

VINCENT VAN GOGH – AGES 10 – ADULT | ONLINE EDITION

1 Vincent VanGogh – Ages 10 – Adult | MeetTheMasters Online Edition

Step 1 - Introducing the Master Artist: Slideshow Guide

MOTIVATION

BEGIN READING HERE

Do you like to listen to the radio? Do you listen to the lyrics? What are lyrics? (WORDS TO

THE SONG) Sometimes lyrics can tell a story. We’re going to hear a song about a famous artist, Vincent Van Gogh, who lived over 100 years ago. As we listen to the lyrics, try to get

a feeling of Van Gogh’s life and art. Some of the lyrics may seem confusing. But as we learn more about today’s artist, you will better understand what they mean. While we listen we are going to see a self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh. Are you ready?

Click Start Lesson To Begin

1. SELF-PORTRAIT

Play Audio

"Vincent" by Don McLean Copyright 1988, EMI Records

LYRICS: "Starry, starry night. Paint your palette blue and gray. Look out on a summer’s day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul. Shadows on the hills. Sketch the trees and the daffodils. Catch the breeze and the winter chills in colors on the snowy, linen land.

Know I understand what you tried to say to me. How you suffered for your sanity. And how you tried to set them free. They would not listen, they did not know how. Perhaps they’ll

listen now. Starry, starry night. Flaming flowers that brightly blaze. Swirling clouds in violet haze

reflecting Vincent’s eyes of china blue. Colors changing hue. Morning fields of amber grain. Weathered faces lined in pain are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand. Now I

understand what you tried to say to me and how you suffered for your sanity and how you tried to set them free. They would not listen, they did not know how. Perhaps they never will.

For they could not love you. But still your love was true. And when no hope was left inside

on that starry, starry night, you took your life as lovers often do. But I could have told you, Vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.

Starry, starry night. Portraits hung in empty halls, frameless heads on nameless walls with eyes that watch the world and can’t forget. Like the strangers that you’ve met. The ragged

men in ragged clothes, the silver thorn of a bloody rose, lie crushed and broken on the virgin soil. Now I think I know what you tried to say to me. How you suffered for your sanity. And how you tried to set them free. They would not listen. They’re not listening still.

Perhaps they never will."



End Of Audio – continue reading

After listening to the lyrics and seeing his portrait, what can you surmise about his life? Do you think he was happy or sad? (SAD) Did you hear the lyrics "Starry, starry night…"?

Starry Night is the name of one of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings that I’m going to

show you now.

Click Next To Change Slide

2. STARRY NIGHT Which word best describes this painting, peaceful or exploding? (EXPLODING) When you

normally think of a starlit night, would you visualize it like this? (NO) Neither would I. Do

you remember this line in the lyrics of the song you just heard, "How you suffered for your sanity." What does that phrase mean? (TROUBLED, CONFUSED, MENTAL PROBLEMS, MEDICAL PROBLEMS)

Van Gogh painted this while he was in a mental hospital. Some historians believe he suffered throughout his life from a disease that was a rare form of epilepsy. This illness

made it very difficult for him to get along with others. His behavior made others think he was strange. He would periodically fly into uncontrollable rages against himself and others.

As he looked out of his hospital window at the stars, he painted what he felt with wildly swirling brush strokes. Look closely at the direction of the swirls. Another word for these

swirls is SPIRAL.S A spiral is like a circle that keeps on going around and around. Some swirl to the right, some swirl upwards. This way the lines balance each other, and keep our eyes in the center of the picture, instead of swirling off the canvas. Perhaps

Vincent was also feeling like he was being pulled in all directions. He wanted so desperately to be a successful, self-supporting artist with a circle of artist friends. But in

reality he was all alone in a hospital, confused about what was wrong with him, unable to sell any of his paintings, and without a single friend to visit him and give him hope.

No artist before Van Gogh had shown the force of a starry night. He saw the stars as a scientist would. He saw great suns whirling in space, not a peaceful scene at all. The next

time you look at a starry night, try to think of it as Vincent Van Gogh did.




3. SKETCHES OF HANDS

Do you get frustrated when you try to draw something for the first time and it just doesn’t look right? Van Gogh and other famous artists have had that same problem! Even a very

talented artist doesn’t usually just sit down and complete a masterpiece on his first try.

Here are some sketches by Van Gogh when he was preparing to paint figures of people. He studied them and sketched them for one whole winter. Can you tell me what kinds of hands these are? Are they hands of royalty? (NO, HANDS OF WORKERS) Next you will

see the finished painting for which he sketched all of those hands.


4. POTATO EATERS

Do you think he sketched and studied more than just hands for this painting? (YES) The

title of this painting is Potato Eaters. What kind of life do you think these people led? (PEASANTS, FARMERS, POOR, HARD-WORKING) Yes, Van Gogh painted this to show

the hard life of a peasant farmer in Holland, where he was born. He wanted to show that the hands of these people eating potatoes, were the same hands that dug up the potatoes in the fields.

What colors did he use to paint this? (EARTHTONES OF BROWNS, DARK COLORS,

HIGH LIGHTS OF YELLOW, BLUE) If he had used all bright colors, would the feeling be

the same? (NO) As we investigate more of Van Gogh’s paintings, you will see that he used color to express how he felt about the subject he was painting. He expressed

emotions through color.

Look closely at the faces of the people. Do they look like they are carved out of wood? (YES) Van Gogh used this technique to show what a rough, rugged life they led.

Before Van Gogh became an artist, he trained to become a minister. He traveled around his native Holland ministering to peasants who led very hard lives. But he was shy and

found it hard to talk in front of people. So after a short while, he regretfully gave up this work. That’s when he decided to devote himself, full time, to art.

Do you have a friend named Paul? Vincent met a fellow artist he admired very much. His name was Paul Gauguin (go-GAN) When Vincent lived in the south of France he invited

Paul to visit and stay with him. When Gauguin accepted the invitation, Van Gogh was so excited to have another artist to paint with, he did something special to get his cottage ready. What do you think he did? (ANSWERS WILL VARY) Before company arrives,

some people clean house and might even buy flowers to decorate a table. But Van Gogh painted flowers instead. He painted several canvases of one of his favorite flowers that

just happened to be growing in a field near his cottage. They come in his favorite color of yellow. Can you guess what flower that is?




5. SUNFLOWERS

If you guessed sunflowers, you’re correct. Notice the unusual place where Vincent signed his name…right on the vase. Most artists sign their names in the corners, but Vincent chose a more prominent place. To make sure you notice the vase, what did he do to it? (OUTLINED IT WITH THICK RED LINE) When Paul Gauguin came to stay he

complimented Van Gogh on these flower paintings, but that was probably the last nice

comment he made. Sad and lonely Van Gogh needed a friend more than anything, especially one who also enjoyed painting. But, unfortunately, his friend was bossy and self-centered. He would constantly criticize Van Gogh’s paintings, which led to frequent

arguments. Van Gogh painted something of Gauguin’s. Can you guess what it might be?


6. GAUGUIN’S ARMCHAIR

Did you guess he chose a chair to paint?! Doesn’t it seem like Gauguin should be seated

in it? Twice Van Gogh painted an empty chair: first Gauguin’s, and then his own. Does it give you the feeling of loneliness to see an empty chair? (YES) The two men were arguing

constantly when Vincent painted this. It shows how lonely and unhappy he felt because they weren’t communicating with each other.Let’s remember the lyrics from the song we heard: "They would not listen, they did not know how." Van Gogh felt his friend wasn’t

listening to him and he felt lonely when he painted Gauguin’s chair. What time of day does the picture show? (NIGHT CANDLES LIT) What clues tell you Gauguin is nearby or has recently left? (BOOKS LEFT ON SEAT OF CHAIR, CANDLE BURNING)

Van Gogh and Gauguin continued to argue constantly. Their violent disagreements finally

led to a tragedy. Van Gogh tried twice to attack Gauguin. Gauguin was able to escape, but to punish himself for the attack against his friend, Van Gogh cut off part of his own ear.


7. SELF-PORTRAIT WITH BANDAGED EAR

Here is the self-portrait Van Gogh painted after that attack. Do you see his bandaged ear? (YES) What words would describe how Van Gogh was feeling? (UNHAPPY,

DEPRESSED, NERVOUS, TIRED) Notice the colors he chose. Do the colors blend together and make you feel calm? (NO) Do the colors contrast and help set the mood of

tension and unhappiness? (YES) Listen again to a lyric from the song, Vincent:

"weathered faces lined in pain, soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand." Could those words refer to this portrait? (YES, POSSIBLY)

Van Gogh painted many pictures while he was in the mental hospital. Since he didn’t have models or friends there to sit for portraits, he painted himself. He painted many lonely



scenes of the hospital grounds, the hallways, and the fields around the buildings. Most of

the paintings and their colors reflect how he was feeling at that time, just as this self-portrait does. Perhaps Vincent was feeling happier on the day he painted this next picture.


8. PEACH TREES IN BLOOM

I want you to look closely at the TEXTURE in this painting, titled Peach Trees in Bloom. Texture is how something feels when you touch it. Van Gogh painted a lot of texture into

his paintings for us to see. He didn’t carefully blend his paint into the canvas. Rather, he left it thick to create texture, so we could feel it with our eyes.

We’re going to pretend we’re in a museum featuring the work of Van Gogh. We enter a room and our eye is immediately drawn to this painting. We want to discover how he

created all that texture so we walk right up for a close up view. Keep your eye on the right-hand side of the painting, about in the middle where the fence is.


9. CLOSE UP: PEACH TREES

Now we can really see the texture and the colors! Doesn’t it look different? That’s why it’s so great to see original paintings in museums because they look so different and beautiful up close. How did Van Gogh create so much texture in this painting? (BRUSHSTROKES,

THICK PAINT, COLOR, LINES) Looking this closely we clearly see his techniques.

Look at how he used thick white paint to show the soft white flowers. He often applied thick paint to the canvas with a palette knife instead of a brush. Many museums around the world protect their Van Gogh paintings by covering them with glass so the paint won’t chip off. Notice the fence. Did he use more than one color? (YES) He used brushstrokes

of several colors to show us a fence that has been out in the sun, wind and rain for a long

time. It would be very rough if we could touch it, but Van Gogh knew our eyes could tell texture without needing our hands to feel it.

Listen to this line from the song Vincent and try to figure out what it means, "portraits hung in empty halls, frameless heads on nameless walls." Can you interpret that lyric? (NOBODY LIKED OR BOUGHT HIS PAINTINGS) Van Gogh painted over 1,700 works of

art in his last ten years. He worked feverishly and many times would not stop to eat or sleep until he had finished a painting. He would then collapse from exhaustion. He sold only one painting during his lifetime. - Click Next To Change Slide

10. THE RED VINEYARD

This is the only painting he ever sold. The sister of a German artist purchased it for $80. These are farm workers picking grapes in the field. What colors jump out at you? (RED,



YELLOW, ORANGE) These are the colors of autumn when the grapes were harvested.

Are they WARM or COOL COLORS? (WARM) Most of us notice WARM COLORS like

red, yellow,and orange, first in a painting. They are exciting and dramatic. The COOL COLORS of blue, green and purple are calm, peaceful colors.


11. PORTRAIT OF DR. GACHET (gah-SHAY)

Today a Van Gogh painting sells for millions of dollars. You are looking at the most

expensive painting that has ever been sold, as recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1990, a wealthy Japanese businessman purchased this painting at an auction in New York City for almost $90 million. That’s 90 with six zeros after it! Remember the

lyrics, "weathered faces lined in pain, soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand," and look at this painting of Van Gogh’s friend. Do you think those words seem to fit this portrait?. (YES) What do the colors express in this painting? (SADNESS-TONES OF BLUE) Dr.

Gachet was an artist and like Vincent, he too suffered from mental problems. How does Van Gogh show this in the painting? (WORRIED, EMPTY LOOK IN EYES, USE OF

TONES OF BLUE, RESTING ON ELBOW AS IF TIRED OF LIFE)

Van Gogh never felt much love or acceptance from the people around him, except for a

loving brother, Theo (Tay-o). He committed suicide while in a field where he frequently painted. It was in a small village outside of Paris where his life ended tragically after

shooting himself in the stomach. He lived for a few more days before he died on a starry, starry night.

Click Next And Read Pierre’s

Final Thoughts On Van Gogh

(to exit this unit

click Back To Units)



Step 2 - Learning From: Worksheets

The Expressive Use Of Texture Certain types of textures are usually found on certain types of things. For example, scales are found on fish and bumps are found on frogs. But what if you put scales on a dog?

What would it tell you about the dog?

Copy the texture from each box onto the drawing beside it. Notice how the addition of texture changes the dynamics of each item.

Can you make up a new texture for the dog below?

What new name will you give it? ____________________________



Spirals A closed circle with lines surrounding it looks like a rock being dropped into the water

These are called

concentric circles. Draw some broken

circles around this dot.

A spiral with broken lines

has movement.

Draw some broken lines

around this spiral. Change

your colors often.

Van Gogh used concentric circles and spirals to create the illusion of movement in his masterpieces. Think of these broken line spirals as you create your own “Starry Night”.



Building Texture Around Shapes

Vincent van Gogh often outlined shapes with color to make them seem alive.

Draw 2 to 3 different shapes in the box below. Make a series of outlines around your shapes. Outline each shape one at a time. Make your lines broken. Do this again and again until your outlines start bumping into one another. Then look for new shapes to outline. Continue to outline until you fill the frame.



Using Texture

Color this landscape with the textures provided.

Agricultural

texture

Sky texture Cypress Tree

texture

Building textu



ARTIST PROFILE SLIPS

The last few pages of this section contain the Art Activity for Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night. This step-by-step outline will be a guide for instructing your child(ren) through the

activity.

The parent/teacher should review all steps necessary to complete this project before beginning any work.

Cut out the Artist Profile Slip below and attach it to the back of your finished artwork.

Vincent van Gogh

(van-GOE) - Dutch (1853-1890)

The results of Van Gogh’s unhappy and tragic life are beautiful, expressive paintings of a world that did not accept or understand him. ART ACTIVITY EMPHASIS: Texture MEDIA: Oil Pastel on black construction paper.

Vincent van Gogh

(van-GOE) - Dutch (1853-1890) The results of Van Gogh’s unhappy and tragic life are beautiful, expressive

paintings of a world that did not accept or understand him. ART ACTIVITY EMPHASIS: Texture MEDIA: Oil Pastel on black construction paper.



Step 3 - Working With: Art Activity Instructions ARTIST Vincent Van Gogh (GOE)

(1853-1890) Dutch

ART ELEMENTS

Texture MEDIA

Oil Pastels EMPHASIS

Van Gogh’s strokes of colored texture

VOCABULARY

Texture, spiral, broken line, stroke, pressure, movement, foreground, horizon

line VISUALS

Print: The Starry Night SUGGESTED MUSIC

"Vincent" by Don McLean

or Music of the 1800’s

MATERIALS FOR INSTRUCTOR AND CHILDREN

One 9" x 12" black construction paper One sheet of newsprint paper (preferably 9" x 12") One paper towel (for wiping fingers)

Artist Profile Slip (page 11) One box of oil pastels (broken and peeled work best!)

Glue

PREPARATION

Place the Van Gogh print where it can be easily seen. Construct an example to become

familiar with the procedure. Place your 9" x 12" black paper on your work space. Have your oil pastels close by.

SET-UP [ 5 minutes ]

Distribute the following materials to each child: SUPPLIES: Oil pastels PAPER: One black 9" x 12" construction paper, one sheet of newsprint, one paper

towel, and the artist profile slip.

ORIENTATION [ 5 minutes ]

Texture shows us how something would feel if we touched it. There is texture we can feel,

and in art there is texture we can see called visual texture. Texture often adds interest and movement to a work of art. Do you remember the artist who used texture in this painting, The Starry Night? (VAN GOGH). How did he make the stars swirl through the sky? (WITH TEXTURE AND BRUSH STROKES) Does Van Gogh’s use of texture make you feel it was a



calm, still evening? (NO, CLEAR & WINDY) What kinds of colors did Van Gogh use to make

it seem like night? (COOL AND DARK, WITH BRIGHT YELLOW STARS) Let’s use oil

pastels to make a starry night just like Van Gogh’s.

DEMONSTRATION AND ACTIVITY ORGANIZE YOUR WORK AREA [ 3 minutes ]

1. Put your black paper horizontally in the middle of your work space.

2. Open your oil pastels, and put them beside the black paper. 3. Put your artist profile slip and paper towel in the top corner of your work area.

4. Put your newsprint on top of your black paper. DRAWING WITH OIL PASTELS [ 3 minutes ]

How are pastels different from crayons? (SOFTER, BRIGHTER, OIL-BASED INSTEAD OF

WAXBASED, THEY SMELL OF OIL, THEY ARE MESSIER) 1. Roll up your sleeves. 2. Peeled and broken pastels will work the best.

3. After you use each pastel, put them back in the box, not on the work area. Put one color per row.

4. Wipe your fingers on your paper towel if your hands get messy. 5. When you are done put all the pastels flat in the box, one color per row, before you close the lid. PRACTICING A BROKEN LINE SPIRAL [ 7 minutes ]

Demonstrate the three lines, and let the children practice the lines on their newsprint. Chidren can choose any color pastel.

1. Let’s first try a circular line that connects and becomes a shape. What shape is it? (A CIRCLE) Is that a closed line or an

open line? (CLOSED) 2. Now let’s try a line that starts at the center dot and circles out…What do we call this type of line? (A SPIRAL) Is it open or

closed? (OPEN) 3. Let’s try a spiral starting out from the center. Each time we will

make a short stroke and pick up our pastel, make a small space, and start again. Each time we will go around at least twice, and then change colors. Is this line open or closed? (OPEN. IT IS A

BROKEN LINE SPIRAL) 4. What happens if we go around once and stop? (IT LOOKS

CLOSED!) ***Now set your newsprint aside.



DRAWING THE CYPRESS TREE IN THE FOREGROUND

(Instructor should use a light pastel for visibility) [ 10 minutes ]

1. On your black paper, draw the Cypress tree in the

foreground (or front) to one side or the other, not right in the middle.

2. Use a black oil pastel to quickly outline the tree. Let it be a free interesting shape like a flame. Start at the bottom of the page, DRAWING THE SPIRAL STAR IN THE TEXTURED

SKY [ 15 minutes ] and stop 2-3 fingers’ width from the top. 3. Fill your tree with short, wavy textural strokes of at least

three different colors, saving blue for the sky. DRAWING A HORIZON LINE OF HILLS [ 3 minutes]

(Instructor should demonstrate with a light pastel for visibility)

1. Using your black pastel, measure one hand’s width up from the bottom of the paper and put a small mark. We want to save lots of sky area for our starry night.

2. Using the black pastel, at the mark draw an interesting horizon line that looks like hills. Let your lines wave and

curve. Remember to stop at the Cypress tree, imagine it through the tree, and continue horizontally across the paper. Have the students notice where the horizon line stops on

either side of Van Gogh’s painting. On the left, it is a quarter of the way up. On the right, it is almost half way up. DRAWING THE SPIRAL STARS IN THE TEXTURED SKY [ 15 minutes ]

1. Using a white or yellow pastel, put 3 to 5 dots in the sky. A tiny crescent-shaped moon can also be added. (Not too close together or too close to the edge of the paper, tree or

hills.) 2. Use any color to begin.

3. Start a broken line spiraling out from your center dot or moon. 4. When you change colors go around at least twice to keep

the spiral open. Save the light blue for the sky behind the stars.

5. Keep the lines close together. 6. Use lots of different colors and use lots of pressure to keep your colors very bright. 7. Work out to the edges of the paper and the line of the hills.

8. When a line bumps into the line of the hills, another star pattern, or the edge of the paper, you need to jump, imagine how it would continue, and then start it again.



9. Fill the rest of the sky with short strokes of light and/or dark blue that swirl around and

behind the star patterns. DRAWING THE VILLAGE [6 minutes ] 1. Using black pastel, outline several (3 to 5) houses and/or

structures with basic geometric shapes to resemble a village. 2. Add color to the structures using textural strokes of

pastel. 3. Add windows with black or yellow, and doors and

chimneys. 4. Add black lines between the colored lines to add richness.

FILLING THE BACKGROUND WITH ANOTHER TEXTURE TECHNIQUE [ 8 minutes ] 1. Fill the hills with groups of lines of the same color, going in the

same direction in sections. 2. It will look like a patchwork of fields from the air.

3. Every time you change colors, turn your lines another direction. 4. Add black lines between the colored lines to add richness. MOUNTING THE ARTIST PROFILE SLIP [ 2 minutes ]

(Profile slips for each artist are provided. They give a brief description of the artist, the technique, and the media used in the art activity. They should be mounted on the back of each art project after it is completed.)

1. Write your name on the front of the artist profile slip. 2. Using glue, mount the profile slip on the back of your artwork.

3. Encourage students to discuss their artwork with others, using this artist slip of information.

CONCLUSION

Was Van Gogh feeling peaceful and quiet or upset and restless when he painted his Starry Night? (UPSET AND RESTLESS) He captured these emotions with his brushstrokes and

colors and made the sky seem to "explode." Look at your own Starry Night. What emotion do you see in your creation? Give me a word to capture that emotion – is it quiet, angry, loud, or sleepy?

THIS CONCLUDES THE Vincent VanGogh UNIT.

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