Central Primary School Arts Day First Grade: Henri Matisse – Apples (Tempera Painting)

Henri Matisse Was born in 1869 in a small town in France Parents owned a general store and wanted Henri to take over; instead, he became a lawyer

Henri Matisse At age 20, he got very sick and was in the hospital. His mom bought him a box of paints and from that day on he wanted to be an artist.

Henri Matisse Was nicknamed the “King of Color” Later in life he developed cancer and was bedridden. Started cutting out shapes with scissors. New art form- “Drawing with Scissors.”

Did You Know… That Matisse and Picasso were both friends and rivals? That Matisse joined a group of painters and because of their wild colors, they were known as “Fauves” which means “wild beasts”? Matisse painted with a few colors and a few lines at a time?

Inspiration for Today’s Project Bowl of Apples on a Table, 1916, Oil on Canvas, The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia

Supplies You Will Need… 12” x 15” white sulphite paper Liquid tempera paint Medium round brush (06-08) plus water container Black oil pastel Paper plate (9”) Small round objects like condiment cups for tracing and paper plate

Step 1 (5 minutes) Have students write their name on back of paper. Using black oil pastel, trace an upside down paper plate to make the plate in the artwork and trace cups to make apples. Draw 3 circles (apples) beside each other near the bottom of the plate. Then, start layering the apples behind the first apples. The children should be able to fit in about 7 apples. Then, free draw another circle around the original circle. This line is the outside of the bowl/plate. See next slide for example.

Step 2 (15 minutes) Put oil pastels away for now and set tray of paints (red, yellow, green) on table and paint apples. Start with a light color, like yellow, and paint one apple yellow. Then, without cleaning the brush, scoop up some red paint and paint over yellow apple. The results will be an orange apple with yellow and red streaks. Pretty! Continue painting the other apples using a combination of yellow, green and red paint.

Tip You will need to remind the children that mixing red and green paint will result in some brown, which we will use later, but unless they want a very bruised looking apples, only yellow should be mixed with green. (15minutes) Yellow +Green = Lime Green Yellow +Red = Orange

Step 3 (10 minutes) Allow children to paint the background a color that is not represented in the apples. Usually this is some form of green or blue. After painting the apples and background, pick a color for the plate. It may be a combination of the colors or a single color. Many of my students used one color for under the apples and another for the rim. See next slide for example.

Last Step (5 minutes) If you have time, take black oil pastel and draw “V” stem on each apple. See next slide for example.