Coleman Elementary School third graders practiced tints and shades using a cityscape inspired by the streets of San Francisco. With Mentor Artist Julia James, students began with a quick pencil drawing of seven different buildings with a foreground, middle ground and background.”We used blue or red tempera. Adding white made tints; adding black made shades. It was challenging to mix colors without using any water. If we mixed too vigorously, the paint was soaked up by the paper plate! In exploring shades and tints, we learned that the background is usually lighter than the foreground. Last week, we practiced painting with a round brush. For this project we used flat brushes and discovered they make different lines. It was great to have flat brushes for working in tight corners and around sharp edges. For the final step, we added windows and doors.”
Thank you to The Kennedy Center, Marin Community Foundation, and Marin County Office of Education for making these programs possible.
