This past week, my young art students completed a
project based on the Blue Dog paintings by the late artist George Rodrigue. After
talking about the artist and looking at examples of his work, students were
instructed to create their own version of a blue dog painting. The idea was not
to copy the original work exactly, but to give their own dog a personality by using
color choices, background design, and any accessories they wanted their dog to
wear.
The paintings were completed on canvas paper with
initial sketches done in pencil. Students then traced over their pencil lines
with black oil pastel. Acrylic paint was used to fill in color, and as a final
step, black acrylic ink was used to go over the oil pastel lines that may have
been covered up in the painting process. Works like this could also be
completed using basic supplies such as oil pastel, tempera paint, or using colored
pencils and crayons.
There have been several books for children written by the artist featuring Blue Dog, including Why is Blue Dog Blue and Are You Blue Dog's Friend?
As a writing exercise to complement the art, ask
students to write a short story featuring their blue dog character. Where does
he/she live? Who are his/her owners? What does their dog like to do? Who are
his friends, and the question that might reveal the most exciting part of the
story…why is Blue Dog blue?
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