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High [9th-12th] Lesson Plan

Acrylic Pour with leftover paint

Created on June 20, 2018 by StephieArtTeacher



Sometimes after a painting lesson, my students used way too much paint. It doesn't matter how much I tell them to pour a little at a time, many of them still put too much on a palette. Scraping all the extra paint back into containers is time consuming and often results in just dried, unused paint. This lesson takes that unused paint and utilizes it into an acrylic pour that can be used as decoration, or even an art fundraiser for the class.


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THE PLAN
1 session; 45 minutes per session

SWBAT learn proper way to layer colors with complimentary ones
SWBAT use the pouring technique to create an effective abstract canvas
SWBAT effectively clean up leftover paint

Plastic cups
Pouring medium or paint thinner (optional)
blank canvases
plastic drop cloth
drip pan (optional)
polyurethane water based or spray sealer with a high gloss
paint brush
Popsicle sticks

Need these materials? Visit Blick!

Decide on how many leftover colors of paint you have. Put out that many cups. Have students scrape off the leftover paints from palettes and put into a cup with just that color. (red paint cup, green paint cup, etc) use the pouring medium OR paint thinner OR just some water and add small amounts to each cup till you get about the consistency of a milkshake. Make sure it's thoroughly mixed with no lumps. Pick 2 or 3 colors in addition to white that you want to do on one canvas. Teach students about picking colors that look nice next to each other, and that have a balance of lights and darks. Take another cup and pour a little bit of white into it. Then put the next color, next, and finish with a little more white. You don't need to mix these, just pour one on top of the other. Put your drop cloth on a table and your drip pan out OR turn several more cups upside down so your canvas can be set on top of them. (This will allow the paint to drip off the sides and the canvas to dry faster by allowing air underneath) take your canvas and place it face down on top of the layered paint cup. Gently flip the canvas and remove the cup and the paint will flow in a large pile. Have students carefully tilt the canvas back and forth, creating neat streaks of color and taking the paint edge to edge. Do NOT over do this! It will come out muddy and grey. Once's it's covered, put it down on those upside down cups or drip pan and walk away! If it's not too thick, most canvases will dry in 24 hours. Some require a few days. Once completely dry, brush on a layer of the water based polyurethane to give a great shine finish, or use a spray gloss sealer.

Students will be assessed on their ability to accurately follow the steps to create a good effect of the poured canvas. This is a project that you can't really mess up if done correctly. They will also be assessed on their ability to keep things clean and orderly.


This project has MANY variations and the more you do it, the more things you will start to try. You can either leave time at the end of class for students to use their leftover paint to make a poured canvas, or this can be a project all by itself that you use paints straight from the bottles. For me it was a solution to stop wasting paints that my students had leftover. I also had students come to my room at the end of the day (study hall) to assist with the cleaning up of paint and make the canvases. It's fun for them and the paintings are so nice you can use them as an art auction for a fundraiser, or use them as rewards for kids who remember to clean up their work spaces and not use too much paint :)

THE STANDARDS

Visual Arts Standard 1:
Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes


[9-12 Proficient] Students conceive and create works of visual art that demonstrate an understanding of how the communication of their ideas relates to the media, techniques, and processes they use
[9-12 Proficient] Students apply media, techniques, and processes with sufficient skill, confidence, and sensitivity that their intentions are carried out in their artworks
[9-12 Advanced] Students initiate, define, and solve challenging visual arts problems independently using intellectual skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation
[9-12 Advanced] Students communicate ideas regularly at a high level of effectiveness in at least one visual arts medium

Visual Arts Standard 2:
Using knowledge of structures and functions


[9-12 Proficient] Students evaluate the effectiveness of artworks in terms of organizational structures and functions
[9-12 Proficient] Students demonstrate the ability to form and defend judgments about the characteristics and structures to accomplish commercial, personal, communal, or other purposes of art
[9-12 Proficient] Students create artworks that use organizational principles and functions to solve specific visual arts problems
[9-12 Advanced] Students demonstrate the ability to compare two or more perspectives about the use of organizational principles and functions in artwork and to defend personal evaluations of these perspectives
[9-12 Advanced] Students create multiple solutions to specific visual arts problems that demonstrate competence in producing effective relationships between structural choices and artistic functions

Visual Arts Standard 3:
Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas


[9-12 Proficient] Students apply subjects, symbols, and ideas in their artworks and use the skills gained to solve problems in daily life

Visual Arts Standard 4:
Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures


[9-12 Proficient] Students differentiate among a variety of historical and cultural contexts in terms of characteristics and purposes of works of art
[9-12 Proficient] Students describe the function and explore the meaning of specific art objects within varied cultures, times, and places
[9-12 Proficient] Students analyze relationships of works of art to one another in terms of history, aesthetics, and culture, justifying conclusions made in the analysis and using such conclusions to inform their own art making

Visual Arts Standard 5:
Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others


[9-12 Proficient] Students reflect analytically on various interpretations as a means for understanding and evaluating works of visual art
[9-12 Proficient] Students identify intentions of those creating artworks, explore the implications of various purposes, and justify their analyses of purposes in particular works
[9-12 Proficient] Students describe meanings of artworks by analyzing how specific works are created and how they relate to historical and cultural contexts
[9-12 Advanced] Students correlate responses to works of visual art with various techniques for communicating meanings, ideas, attitudes, views, and intentions

Visual Arts Standard 6:
Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines


[9-12 Proficient] Students compare the materials, technologies, media, and processes of the visual arts with those of other arts disciplines as they are used in creation and types of analysis
[9-12 Proficient] Students compare characteristics of visual arts within a particular historical period or style with ideas, issues, or themes in the humanities or sciences
[9-12 Advanced] Students synthesize the creative and analytical principles and techniques of the visual arts and selected other arts disciplines, the humanities, or the sciences

THE FEATURES
Abstract Art, Abstract Expressionism

Color/Value, Contrast, Movement, Texture, Variety

Acrylic, Canvas, Painting