Primary Art Skills & Techniques
It would be impossible for me to cover every art skill and technique in detail on this whole website. There are so many to choose from and even a quick search of the internet is almost endless with possibilities. Usually however, art skills are divided into main sub-headings: Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Design (which covers all manner of fields from graphic design to architecture and game design), Craft, Textiles, Ceramics, Digital art, Photography, Film and Sculpture. I think as long as you are doing some of the main sub-groups of drawing, painting and some craft activities every year then you are fine.
On this page there are some traditional familiar skills that are well used in schools around the world, as well as some of my own favourites. I have a full page devoted to drawing and I also do workshops and courses on drawing and paintings skills regularly. Please let me know if there is anything you'd like me to cover that is not on this page.
Primary K-6 Painting
Painting in the Primary school is of huge importance to art and design education in later years. If children are taught colour mixing and properties, control, dexterity and skills they will make the transition to Secondary High School art with ease and may just develop a lifelong love. Get it wrong and it's all too familiar to hear the cries of; "I hate painting!"
Of course you will already have some fabulous painting practice going on in your school and I'm sure your pupils get some great experiences. But teaching painting is not easy. You need a lot of technical know how and even then you need to be able to translate that into simple terms the children understand.
Things like handling the brush, painting straight lines, mixing tones, blending from light to dark, watercolour washes, acrylic paint are all important. This is before you teach colour expression, mood, technique and depth of field etc. Painting is a specialist area but don't panic. You don't need to be an expert yourself, just provide opportunities to paint and follow some of these simple exercises that are free to download.
Painting Tips
All ages
A powerpoint that outlines basic principles and housekeeping of painting. Great to print out andf post near the sink!
Colour Theory
Age 7-14
Some teachers prefer to embed colour theory into projects but this stand alone worksheet & powerpoint is great to have.
Tints & Shades
Age 7-14
Improve your student's painting techniques by completing this range of worksheets for tints and shades.
Impressionism
Age 7-14
A lovely project that teaches colour mixing by practical application. The students study famous paintings by the Impressionists.
Pop Art
Age 7-14
A traditional Pop Art project that works well and gets great results. Save yourself loads of time and get it here!
Imagination
Age 7-14
Sometimes the simple things work best! Working from imagination is often under used in the art room due to its unpredictable outcomes.
Jungle Project
Age 7-14
Improve your student's painting techniques by learning depth of field, size and proportion. This can be adapted for collage
Music Kandinsky
Age 7-14
Many art rooms use this type of project where students study Kandinsky and listen to music to create abstract art.
Charcoal
In this project students will learn about tones when working with charcoal
Wax Resist
Uses oil pastels and powdered ink. The technique in this lesson are great for sketchbooks.
Indian Ink
Shows you the basics of using Indian Ink. It can be done by students at any level, & usually goes down well
Texture
I put this together as an introduction to using cut out shapes and textures. Good sketchbook activity.
Podcast
Shows you how to make a free podcast. Great for revision notes or guidance. Great way to make mp3's.
Online art gallery
This powerpoint shows you how to set up an online art gallery where you can instantly upload images of students work
Lesson Plan Blank Template
This lesson plan blank template is a Word document and is based on the old AQA template much favoured.
Baseline Test
You cannot measure pupil progress if you don't accurately assess where your pupils are starting from! Recently updated.
Free to Download
FREE fully illustrated downloadable Art & Design lesson plans
Suitable for Key Stage One; age 4 to seven years
Birds of Paradise – make a bird of paradise using PVA glue, ink and modelling clay
Tony Craggs – Make a junk mural using found plastics
Murakami – Learn to paint and mix colours through the fabulous work of Japanese artist Murakami.
Suitable for Key Stage Two; age 7 -11
Clay Animals – make clay animals using a water balloon and air dry or DAS clay.
Dogon Mask making – Study the African Dogon tribe then make your own mask for a fun occasion. You’ll need card, tape, paints.
Funny Fish – draw from line studies of fish then create your own cool cartoon fish.
Language of Drawing – Learn how to draw in abstract styles using your own secret code.
Macro Art – take macro close-up photos on your phone then make large scale drawings from them in whatever medium you wish.
Suitable for Key Stage 3; age 11-14
Me in a Box - Turn an old box into a wonderful personal piece of sculpture
Alien Landscape – learn the principles of landscape painting by creating an alien landscape.
Dreams – Draw a portrait of a sleeping person then use your computer to create a dream image.
Dogon Mask making - Study the African Dogon tribe then make your own mask for a fun occasion. You’ll need card, tape, paints.
Language of Drawing - Learn how to draw in abstract styles using your own secret code.
Macro Art – take macro close-up photos on your phone then make large scale drawings from them in whatever medium you wish.
Suitable for Key Stage 4/5; age 14-16+
Dreams - Draw a portrait of a sleeping person then use your computer to create a dream image.
Macro Art – Take macro close-up photos on your phone then make large scale drawings from them in whatever medium you wish.
Media Art – Pop Art with a big twist. This self-directed learning project will get you thinking about the effect of the media on us through your art.
Expressive Painting – Study the great painting masters, learn their techniques then apply them to your own compositions. You’ll need paint, brushes and paper for this.
As an NSEAD registered art consultant, I offer a friendly, professional art consultancy service to schools, from early years right through to Secondary GCSE. I've worked with infant schools to improve art assessment, delivered primary school CPD on skills and progression, worked with Subject Leaders to raise attainment and done whole school, secondary art department audits including formal lesson observations and department reviews. My over-arching strategy is to support the professional development of hard working professionals with positive and constructive advice for improvement.
Training Courses
Please follow the link to see my latest CPD teacher training courses. If you can't see any that suits your needs, why don't you arrange for a bespoke in-school service?
