Winter Value Paintings 
Learning Targets
I can...
- Create an original Winter Value Paintings using drawing techniques learned in class
- Use color combinations (neutral, monochromatic, grayscale), shape variation (geometric, organic, free form), and value (lightness, darkness, tonal, tints, shades) inspired by American Photographer (1902-1984) Ansel Adams
- Use photography techniques (exposure, dynamic, speed, rule of thirds) and design principles (movement, composition, emphasis) based on American Conservation Movement
- Define Tonal (the lightness or darkness of a color or area called value)
Lesson One
Day One, Art Start
1. Young Oaks In Snow (1938) Ansel Adams
2. Read First Edition Trees: Ansel Adams by Ansel Adams
3. Discussion Questions "How does an artist create a feeling of mood and drama without using any color? What words (cold, bright, majestic, silent) come to mind when you look at this snow? Why would capturing the beauty of nature might make people want to protect it? How did Ansel Adams use his art to show love and protection for nature? How does looking at a winter landscape make you feel? How can we arrange our trees so that some look very close to us (foreground) and others look far away (background)? How did limiting your palette to just values (black, white, grey) change how you focused on the textures (trees, snow, bark) in the value painting? In what ways did your painting capture the grand, powerful feeling of nature that Ansel Adams loved?"
Lesson Activities
1. Use ruler, compass, or straightedge to draw the scenery (background, foreground, middle ground) of the Winter Value Paintings
2. Add details (buildings, animals, plants) within the positive space (foreground, trees) and scenery (foreground, middle ground, background) of the Winter Value Paintings
3. Use permanent marker to outline the positive space (foreground, trees) and scenery (middle ground, background, foreground) of the Winter Value Paintings
Day Two, Art Start
1. Retrieve Winter Value Paintings for Assigned Tables
2. Oak Tree, Snowstorm (1948) Ansel Adams
3. Discussion Questions "Why might an artist choose to work outside? What mood do you feeling when looking at Ansel Adams' black and white photographs? Why do you think Ansel Adams chose to focus so deeply on nature and national parks? Where do you see the brightest whites and the darkest blacks in the snowy landscapes? How does light change the way the tree trunk looks when it is covered in snow? How can you use brushstrokes to show the texture of rough bark versus soft, fluffy snow? What happens to your horizon line when you want to show a vast, heavy winter sky versus a massive blanket of snow? How does removing color help us notice details like texture, shape, and light that we might normally ignore? Do you think Ansel Adams work was purely about documenting nature, or was he trying to tell a story?"
Lesson Activities
1. Add patterns (swirls, clouds, stripes, stars) to the scenery (foreground, middle ground, background) of the Winter Value Paintings
2. Use color combinations (monochromatic, analogous, neutral) to fill in the scenery (foreground, middle ground, background) of the Winter Value Landscapes
3. Use color combinations (monochromatic, analogous, neutral) to fill in the scenery (foreground, middle ground, background) of the Winter Value Landscapes
Day Three, Art Start
1. Retrieve Winter Value Paintings for Assigned Tables
2. Set Up Studio Area (paintbrushes, tempera paint, water buckets, pencils)
Lesson Activities
1. Add highlights (reflective light, light source, cast light) within the scenery (foreground, middle ground, background) of the Winter Value Landscapes
2. Add shadows (reflective shadow, cast shadow) within the scenery (foreground, middle ground, background) of the Winter Value Landscapes
3. Add details (animals, buildings, people) within the scenery (foreground, middle ground, background) of the Winter Value Landscapes
Artist Examples
Student Examples
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