Cassatt Ducks

Learning Targets 

I can...

• Create an original Cassatt Duck using painting techniques learned in class
• Use complementary colors (red green; blue orange; purple yellow), value (lightness, darkness), and texture (smooth rough) inspired by American Painter (1844-1926) Mary Cassatt
• Use drawing techniques (blending, smearing smudging) and design principles (movement repetition proportion) based on Impressionism
• Define Movement (the path the viewer's eyes take through the work of art)

Lesson One
Day One, Art Start

1. Feeding the Ducks (1895) Mary Cassatt

2. Read A Life: Mary Cassatt by Nancy Mowll Matthews

3. Discussion Questions "What hobbies or intersects do you have that could turn into a career someday? Should Mary have changed her style of painting to please the judges? Why or why not? When can following rules be a bad idea? Is it ever all right to copy someone else's work? Why do you think Mary wanted her students to spend a year studying and copying the works of the great masters? How have women lives changed since then? What characteristics did Mary have that made her a successful artist? which countries would you like to visit and why? What makes him or her such a good friend? What styles do you like best, and why? Are there things you appreciate about each style?"

Lesson Activities

1. Choose 12" X 15" Drawing Paper

2. Draw three thumbnail sketches of ducks using observational drawing skills (contour outline continuous) for duck paintings

3. Add details (reflective light, shadows) to negative space (background) of the Cassatt Ducks

Day Two, Art Start

1. Retrieve Cassatt Ducks for Assigned Table

2. Summertime (1988) Mary Cassatt 

3. Discussion Questions "How many eggs do ducks lay a year? Do ducks need water to swim in? What is the best way to carry a duck? Are adult ducks noisy? What are ducks? What is a duck bill? What do the duck's feet look like? How does a duck clean itself? Do ducks have water proof feathers? Did you know that all ducks have highly waterproof feathers? What differentiates the duck from most other birds? How many species of duck are there? Where will you not find ducks? How big are ducks? Is there a different in the coloring of ducks? How does a duck manage to fly after swimming?"

Lesson Activities

1. Use drawing techniques (contour outline continuous) to add basic shapes (circle oval rectangle) to duck paintings

2. Use design principles (composition, repetition gradation) to fill in the positive space (duck) of the duck paintings

3. Use drawing techniques (contour outline continuous) to add patterns (loops swirls waves) to the negative space (background) of the Cassatt Ducks

Day Three, Art Start

1. Retrieve Cassatt Ducks for Assigned Table

2. Set Up Studio Area (oil pastels, erasers, pencils)

Lesson Activities

1. Use complementary colors (red green, blue orange, yellow purple) to fill in the positive space (duck) of the Cassatt Ducks

2. Use complementary colors (red green, blue orange, yellow purple) to fill in the negative space (background) of the Cassatt Ducks

3. Add design details (shadows, reflective light) to the negative space (background) of the Cassatt Ducks

Artist Examples

Student Examples