Watercolor Paintings by 2nd Graders

The second grade studies butterflies in science. In Art, we looked at butterflies the way a scientist would:
What is the size of the body compared to the size of the wings?
How many wings are there? Do they overlap?
What kinds of designs are on the wings?
What shape is the body? Can we see the mouth from the top?

Students made a master pattern of their butterfly, learning that if you draw half a butterfly on a fold you get an entire, symmetrical butterfly!

One of the main art objectives was the concept of “overlapping shapes.” Artists use overlapping to represent depth of space: if one butterfly is on top of another, it suggests that there is space below the butterfly. Students traced three copies of their master butterfly and decided which was on top, which on the bottom, and which in between.

Another art objective was to learn about the different ways to use watercolor paint: wet paint on dry paper (for the butterfly) and wet paint on wet paper (for the background.) Wet on dry produces sharp, distinct lines of color, while wet on wet produces fuzzy lines of color.