5th Grade Birch Tree Paintings

Right now we are working on some watercolor birch tree paintings. This lesson really helps us understand depth and perspective, and how to create this illusion on a flat space. First we created trees out of masking tape to keep the paper underneath the tape white. After our tape was down, we drew a horizon line. Next we mixed different values of watercolors, many of us created very light values of blue or violet for snow. Then we painted the sky and discussed placement of shadows on the ground. Soon we are going to peel the tape off, add shading to the white trees (Ms. Hatch even has some birch tree bark to pass around - she grew up in the middle of the woods), and also add details. Watercolor also really helps us learn patience- you just can't rush watercolor! More photos coming...