Making Impressionism Hap'PEN'

Grade 4 and Up
Software Corel Paint, WACOM Tablet and Stylus

Summary: Impressionism is literally the Art of Color, Feeling and Self-Expression. In this lesson the students will learn how to enhance their Impressionistic drawing style with the Water Tool.

This tool enables students to 'smear' the paint, a most visceral experience aligned to oil painting.

Pre Set-
Use these WACO Pen facilitated images to serve as motivation and inspiration for student Impressionist Art Creations.

Share what is meant by Impressionist Art. Use ArtiFAQ 2100 to show different examples of impressionist artists Van Gogh and Seurat, and direct the students to Learning About Leonardo to locate other web based cultural arts resources.

Procedure -

1. Introduce students to the Oil Paint Brush and color selection.

2. Select a grade/content theme or topic to focus the technique training. For example,among the pre set Waco tablet developed pictures:

	One student drew on the Shackleton Shipwreck which he was studying during our Artic Explorers' Collaboration. The colors were blended easily.
	Another, used the setting of a French Café to add gradient fills and pattern for her individual style.

3. Use the Intuos Pen and WACOM Drawing Tablet for this exercise. Begin to draw the selected theme.

4. When you've finish your sketch, select the Water Tool to texturize the paint surface expressively. To do this, pick the water droplet and place the pen it on a desired section of the picture and pull the paint in any direction.

The most appealing feature of the pen is its ability to spread and swirl the colors as they remain fluid. Dry the paint for a layered effect. The pen allowed student artists to express atmospheric moods.