Geelong Lutheran College's Year 7 Students used Howard Arkley's unique and recognisable style as a starting point for these vibrant Charcoal and Pastel drawings. 

Unit: Howard Arkley
Year Levels: Year 7
AusVELS level: Year 7
Duration of Unit: 10 wks     
Term: One
Year: 2014

Learning Focus from AusVels Level 7:

As students work towards the achievement of Level 6 standards in the Arts, they investigate a range of traditional and contemporary arts forms, styles, media and materials.

They experiment with imaginative and innovative ways of generating ideas and manipulating arts elements, principles and/or conventions to explore the potentials of ideas, gaining inspiration from a broad range of sources, including arts works from different cultures, styles and historical context.

Students learn to evaluate their own and other people’s art works showing some understanding of selected arts forms and their particular techniques and processes as well as an emerging understanding of the qualities of arts elements, principles and /or conventions. They independently and collaboratively explore and experiment with different ways of presenting arts works and consider appropriateness of presentation for intended audience.

Unit Learning Focus:

Students focus on the art work of Howard Arkley by investigating the website www.nationalgallery.howardarkley/interactive. Printed copies of Arkley’s house and the children chose colours and patterns to colour in with felt-tips. Then choosing an area of interest (focusing on lines and shapes) enlarge onto A2. The medium used for the second stage is pastel but previse works have been paint. The focus here is complementary colours and shapes. 

Unit Assessment Standards Level 7:

Making

1. They create and present visual art works that show emerging arts knowledge.

2. They plan art works that communicate ideas, observations, feeling and/or experiences.

3. They demonstrate an emerging ability to select, arrange and make choices about expressive ways of using arts elements.

4. They use skills, techniques, processes, materials and equipment in a range of arts form.

Responding

1. They identify, describe and discuss characteristics of their own and others’ arts works.

2. Class presentation

Teaching & Learning Activities

Week 1:

Introduce Howard Arkley

Website: www.nationalgallery.howardarkley/interactive

Print out copy of house and using texts to create colour and patterns.

Week 2:

Using view finder to focusing on interesting area.

Week 3 to 6:

Enlarging to A2 and using pastel to achieve bold colours and interesting patterns.

Week 7:

Analysing Howard Arkley work.

What are the dominant colours in the picture?

How does the use of colour add to visual impact meaning and mood in the picture?

Describe the colours and why you think they are interesting?

Describe the lines he uses in his painting?

Describe the shapes he uses in his painting?

Making

Week 8 – 10:

Finding an area around school landscape and record image. Redraw using the same skills. Using charcoal for tonal drawing.

Responding

What are the dominant colours in Floriated Residence?

How has Arkley used patterns to make an ordinary suburban house visually exciting and vibrant?

What do you think Gary Catalano meant when he referred to Arkley’s work having a ‘colouring-in book quality? What evidence is there for this statement? Do you agree with him?

Resources and Materials

Computers
Texts
Magazines
Pastel
Charcoal
Fixative
Cartridge paper
View finder
Artwise Visual art 7-10
Art insight Page 187 – 189 Read context to answer questions.
Use of elements and principle of art hand out is important. 

Assessment Tools

Student will use their arts diaries to draw, sketches and record. 

Using descriptive words to describe work.

Link with other domains

English – literacy and use of art language whilst sharing, decision making, questioning and discussions.

Personal Learning – Through reflection they discuss learning strategies they have used during the process and ways they can improve or better manage their personal learning.

Cross Curricular Priorities

Link with Personal, Social and Physical Domain

Interpersonal development
Interaction with peers
Personal learning
Investigating artist
Practising art language
Developing and reefing skills

Link with Interdisciplinary Domain

Communication – As the artist and the viewer.
Oral and visual presentation of ideas.
Discussion in responding
ICT for Creating
Reflection, evaluation and metacognition.
Using visual diaries to document sketches involved in the creation of artwork and why they made specific choices.