Nature Based Art Lessons

Let Audubon's nature paintings inspire your students to create their own nature art.

If you would like to transform your art classroom into a virtual forest or jungle, inspire your students' creativity by exposing them to famous artists who paint nature scenes. With just a little instruction on the style and content of each artist or concept, you can take your students well beyond stick figure animals standing on a sea of flat grass. Bring nature into your classroom by creating large pictures and murals to cover the walls.

Audubon's Animals

Teach students about the connection between John Audubon's art and nature by exposing them to information about his conservation society and nature paintings. Have students study samples of Audubon's artwork, then choose an animal to paint in the style of Audubon. Provide students with acrylic or tempera paint with which to create a realistic, detailed painting of the animal they choose.

Henri's Jungle

Have students view some of the many famous jungle scenes and murals painted by Henri Rousseau. Provide groups of students with large, white bulletin board paper and nature photographs obtained from the Internet, books and magazines. Instruct students to work together to create a large nature scene with watercolors or paints in the style of Rousseau's jungle murals.

Nature Patterns

Have students divide a large sheet of white paper into eight boxes. Provide them with resources that contain pictures of nature, and ask them to search the pictures looking for things in nature that have a pattern, such as a snake or flower. Instruct students to draw close-up, color sketches of the patterns without drawing or writing the name of the object, and then switch drawings with someone and try to guess what pattern he drew.

Nature Collage

Take a walk outside and have students place small, natural items they find in small plastic, bags. Provide each student with a small piece of poster board and strong crafter's glue. Instruct students to draw a bare, winter-tree silhouette of a trunk and branches that fills up most of the paper. Have students arrange the natural objects in an appealing way to fill up the poster board before gluing. Once happy with the arrangement, glue the collage onto the poster board.

References

• National Audubon Society: Audubon Art Drawn from Nature
• Nineteenth Century Art Worldwide: Henri Rousseau