FARM FIELDS

Farm Fields

Learning Targets

I can...

• Create an original Farm Fields using drawing techniques learned in class
• Use warm/cool colors (red orange yellow; green blue purple), line types (horizontal, vertical, diagonal), and shape variation (geometric, organic, free form) inspired by American Artist (1891-1942) Grant Wood
• Use observational drawing (horizon line, viewfinder, landscape) and design principles (composition, balance, gradation) based on Regionalism
• Define Parody (an imitation (copy) of a picture, song, or story intended to make fun of something or someone)

Lesson One
Day One, Art Start 

1. Fall Plowing (1931) Grant Wood

2. Read Grant And Tillie Go Walking by Monica Kulling

3. Discussion Questions "Who is the artist that painted American Gothic? What kinds of paintings did Grant Wood do a lot of? What is the name of painting we learned about? When an artist paints the region he or she lives in, this style of painting is called? Where did Grant live? Who were the models for American Gothic? What year was American Gothic painted? What is the farmer holding in the painting American Gothic? Why have this paintings become symbols of Iowa, Midwesterners, and Americans? Do the paintings represent you as a Midwesterner or American?"

Lesson Activities

1. Use graphite pencil to draw the background (sky, clouds, hillside) of the farm field paintings

2. Use graphite pencil to draw the middle ground (fields, houses, trees) of the farm field paintings

3. Use graphite pencil to draw the foreground (bushes, animals, rocks) of the farm field paintings

Day Two, Art Start

1. Retrieve Farm Fields for Assigned Table

2. Stone Wall I (1930) Grant Wood

3. Discussion Questions "What does the scene tell us about the area of the country in which the artist lived in? How is Grant Wood's art influenced by each of these elements in his life; his early drawing tools, his home, his school, and his trips to Europe? How does he artwork reflect the community around him? What kind of scenes were the subjects of regionalist artists? How does his artwork different from other artists of the same era? Why are landscapes considered mediative? What is the difference between a landscape, cityscape, and seascape? What is the background, middle ground, and foreground in this work of art?"

Lesson Activities

1. Add patterns (stripes, waves, dots) to the background (sky, clouds, hillside) of the farm fields paintings

2. Add patterns (stripes, waves, dots) to the middle ground (fields, houses, trees) of the farm fields paintings

3. Add patterns (stripes, waves, dots) to the foreground (bushes, animals, rocks) of the Farm Fields

Day Three, Art Start

1.  Retrieve Farm Fields for Assigned Table

2. Set Up Studio Area (paint brushes, tempera paint, water bucket)

Lesson Activities

1. Use warm/cool colors (red orange yellow) to paint the background (sky, clouds, hillside) of the farm field paintings

2. Use warm/cool colors (green blue purple) to paint the middle ground (fields, houses, trees) of the farm field paintings

3. Use warm/cool colors (red orange yellow) to paint the foreground (bushes, animals, rocks) of the Farm Fields

Artist Examples

Student Examples