Home > How To > Pointillism Poppy Painting

Pointillism Poppy Painting

Art & Art History
Motor Practice
Grades 6-8
Grades 4-5
Grades 1-3

Pointillism is the art of creating images using dots of colors put together to create a larger picture. Learn how to create a painting of poppy flowers in the pointillism style.

Materials

25 Pack Assorted Paint Brushes
Banner Paper 24in x 25 yds
Pencil
Scissors
Foam or Plastic Plate

Instructions

Step 1. Gather your supplies, including acrylic paints.

Step 2.

Cut a piece of Banner paper to the desired size. Use the pencil and draw 2 large simple poppy flowers on the paper. Poppy flowers are made up of large, layered, wavy petals. Add some large leaves around the petals, as shown.

Step 3.

Pour some pink, red, and orange paint on the foam plate. Using the large foam dauber brush, mix the colors together on the plate.

Step 4.

Apply the paint to the flowers, press the dauber brush straight up and down in short vertical strokes. This will create large dots.

Step 5.

Continue applying the paint in all the petals. The dots can overlap. You should see areas of pink, red, and orange throughout the flowers.

Step 6.

Use a round, stiff bristle brush to outline the petals. Use the red, and the same short vertical strokes to create the outline.

Step 7.

Rinse off the plate and pour yellow and green paint. Use the small dauber brush to mix the paint together and paint the leaves, using the same technique used to create the poppies. Use mostly green where the leaves are closer to the petals, add yellow toward the outer edges of the leaves.

Step 8.

To finish the painting, use the large dauber brush to paint the background blue. Your pointillism style poppy painting is now complete!

Teacher's Corner

Create a floral painting using the pointillism technique and discover the works of the artist, Georges Seurat!

Lesson Objectives

Spot On: Pointillism is the art of creating images using dots of colors placed together to make a larger picture. When your students examine their own pointillism flowers up close, they’ll see individual dots, but when they step back, the picture will look like one solid image!
Get To The Point: Georges Seurat was a French artist who pioneered the pointillism technique. His most famous painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, took him over two years to complete! Observe this work of art in class and see if your students can spot the dotted details!

Follow-up Discussion

Although Seurat started the pointillism revolution, many artists tried the technique — including Van Gogh and Paul Signac. Do you students have a favorite artist? Maybe they’ve tried pointillism too — head to the library or internet to see if they can find their favorite artist’s pointillism work!