Observational Drawing

3-&4- Year Olds' Flower Drawings

Students in several grade levels have been involved in careful looking, describing and recording of details in completing observational drawings in art class this spring.

Starting at the youngest ages in the early childhood classes, friends are introduced to the concept of observing, or looking specifically at an object in front of them to create a drawing. The Cardinals and Catbirds looked closely at flowers in a vase, naming the types of shapes and lines that they could use to create their drawings. Starting at the center of the flower, they noticed circles and ovals. They observed that the petals were shaped like ovals but connected at the center, and that they could use loops to draw them. They added straight lines for stems and circles for vases and then carefully blended watercolor colors to record the colors they observed.

1st Graders' Daffodil Drawings

The first graders have also been engaging in observing beautiful spring daffodils in their classrooms as part of a poetry writing exercise. In the art room, they used special watercolor crayons to create observational drawings of the daffodils. They noticed the ruffled edge of the cup at the center of the daffodil, the soft oval petals and long stems and leaves of the plant.

The fourth graders have created stunning still-life drawings, which incorporate a value study. They were introduced to the concept of value in art, which is the range of dark, mid and light tones or shades. Viewing more complex still-life arrangements, they considered the composition of their drawings, deciding which viewpoint to take, where to crop their drawings and which objects were the main focus of their drawings. They began by creating a contour line drawing, and then added value by shading their drawings with graphite, looking carefully for dark, mid and light values. Using water, they created a soft wash with the graphite. 

4th Graders' Still-Life Drawings

As students are given opportunities to create observational drawings throughout their time in lower school, they develop and build upon skills, adding more levels of complexity and a variety of media to enrich their experience. Observational drawing promotes hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. The practice of closely observing details translates to skills utilized in writing, reading and science, as well as promoting mindfulness and taking in the beauty of the world.