Step by Step Lesson Plan: Writing About Art with Purpose

How-To Guides

By Sarah Crowther (The Arty Teacher)

Introduction

How many times have your students described an artwork as “interesting”? Or “unique”? These vague words creep into art writing far too often and they tell us nothing.

In this lesson, students will learn to ditch empty adjectives and replace them with meaningful, subject-specific language.

Aims:

To encourage the use of subject specific language and descriptive writing.

Introduction:

Pretend to describe an artwork in a book that students can’t see. “I’m looking at an interesting artwork. I find it intriguing and unique.” Ask what they now know about this artwork. Nothing! Those three words are banned when discussing or writing about art: interesting, intriguing, and unique. They tell us nothing.

Inform the class they will be writing about an artwork. To help them structure their writing, they will think of 5 keywords inspired by an artwork and then choose adjectives from the provided list. They will use these to help write a paragraph about the artwork.

Model the Activity:

Show students ‘Two Dancers’ by Edgar Degas. Share the following keywords: contrast, brush strokes/dry brush, silhouetted, sepia, quality of line. Share the following adjectives: Contrasting, elegant, Implied, monochrome, muted, sepia.

Read the writing below. Tell them that the opening sentences broadly describe the artwork. Then it goes into more detail and then it describes the mood/atmosphere of the artwork.The painting shows two ballerinas standing, facing each other. The artwork looks like an unfinished sketch. Degas has used dark browns and sepia colours and the paint has been applied in both dark lines and dry brush marks. There is lots of quality of line and mark making within the artwork and the flowing lines sometimes fade so that parts of the picture are only implied. The mark making helps describe the layers of the ballerina’s skirt and fluffy material at the shoulder of the right-hand ballerina. The faces of both ballerinas are very dark. On the left-hand ballerina, you can just see some hints of the features of the face, whilst the profile of the ballerina on the right is almost completely silhouetted, save for some detail in the hair. The mottled effect of the paper has probably come with age. The atmosphere of the artwork is intimate as if we are watching a private moment in time.

Development:

Students will go through the same process. Give them an artwork (or let them choose) and ask them to write down five keywords or phrases that they think of when they look at it. Then, give them the list of adjectives, and they must choose words that they think describe the artwork.Ask students to feedback the words they have chosen. Students write a paragraph about their chosen artwork using some of the keywords they have found. (Don’t force them to use all of them as this can make the writing feel unnatural) Remind them that they should start with a couple of sentences that describe the artwork so that someone who can’t see it would have an idea of what it looks like. They can then go into detail, and end with the mood/atmosphere of the artwork. Allow 10 – 15 minutes for this task.

Plenary

Select some students to read their writing to the class. It is fun if students hide the artwork they have written about and then reveal it after reading their writing. Did the rest of the class visualise what they had described?

Taking This Further

Ask students to choose their own artwork to write about during the next lesson or for homework. Repeating this process will be a good exercise for learning to effectively write about and describe art.

Abstract,
Actual,
Alluring,
Ambiguous,
Ambitious,
Amorphous,
Analytical,
Angular,
Asymmetrical
Audacious,
Balanced,
Beautiful,
Blurred,
Bold,
Brash,
Bright,
Broken,
Bumpy,
Calm,
Captivating,
Challenging,
Clear,
Closed,
Coarse,
Colourful
Complementary
Conceptual,
Contour,
Contrasting,
Controlled,
Cool,
Corrugated,
Critical,
Curvaceous,
Curved,
Dark,
Decorative,
Deep,
Delicate,
Detailed,
Diagonal,
Distorted,
Dramatic,
Dreamy,
Dull,
Dusty,
Dynamic,
Earthy,
Elegant,
Elongated,

Elusive,
Energetic,
Exciting,
Expressive,
Fine,
Flat,
Foreground,
Free Form,
Freehand,
Frenetic,
Furry,
Fuzzy,
Garish,
Geometric,
Glorious,
Glowing,
Gooey,
Granular,
Graphic,
Grayed,
Harsh,
Heavy,
Horizontal,
Illusory,
Imaginative,
Implied,
Interrupted,
Isomorphic,
Layered,
Leathery,
Light,
Linear,
Lonely,
Magnificent,
Massive,
Meandering,
Medium,
Meticulous,
Middle ground,
Monochromatic,
Moving,
Multicolored
Muted,
Narrative,
Nebulous,
Negative,
Non-Conformist
Open,
Organic,
Pale,

Patterned,
Peaceful,
Powerful,
Prickly,
Primary,
Primitive,
ProfessionaI,
Provocative,
Raw,
Realistic,
Rough,
Ruled,
Sandy,
Saturated,
Scratched,
Seamless,
Secondary,
Sepia,
Shallow,
Shiny,
Short,
Simulated,
Skilled,
Smooth,
Soft,
Soothing,
Sticky,
Straight,
Subdued,
Subtle,
Swirling,
Symmetrical,
Tacky,
Talented,
Tertiary,
Textured
Thick,
Thin,
Three-Dimensional
Tinted,
Tranquil,
Triad,
Two- Dimensional
Uneven,
Velvety,
Vertical,
Vibrant,
Warm,
Wet,
Wide,

Written by Sarah Crowther, The Arty Teacher

Sarah the Arty Teacher is an artist and educator known for her colourful, accessible approach to creative learning. She shares practical art techniques, project ideas and classroom-friendly inspiration that help teachers and students build confidence and enjoy the making process.

For more information visit: www.theartyteacher.com