Mina Mina  Judy Napangardi Watson 2004

As part of the unit on ‘What is a typical Australian Landscape?’ The grade 5 and 6 students looked at the work of some indigenous artists including Judy Napangardi Watson.

Trying to achieve the brilliant colours in ‘Mina Mina’ proved to be quite a challenge. First we tried using Chromatemp paints, but the results were flat and dull.

Next we tried the Zart Supermix oil pastels and finally we worked with Chromacryl paints.

The students had been working on black paper. One student asked to use red paper as it looks as though ‘Mina Mina’ was painted on a red background. He did this and we agreed that his work was the most vibrant. It was interesting to do something that did not turn out the way we had initially anticipated. Lots of interesting discussion, experimentation and problem solving took place.

The Landscapes of Contemporary Australian Artists

Looking at the work of Ian Abdulla in Awesome! Australian Art for Contemporary Kids by Laura Murray Cree, was the starting point for these artworks by students in grades 3 and 4.

The backgrounds were painted on using rollers and sponges. Then the foreground was drawn and/or collaged.

This activity was part of a unit of work where the students considered a variety of landscapes by contemporary Australian artists.

Brunswick SW Primary School