First we analyzed and created descriptive vocabulary words for each for each artist's work. We identified overall themes found in the 3 artists work, such as: urban, narrative, skyline, neighborhood, cityscape. Our first step was to create our sky. We learned what is called wet-on-wet watercolor technique. The watercolor paper is wet with a sponge prior to applying paint, which allows for various blending opportunities.
Next, we discussed what kinds of shapes we can find in buildings and architectural details. We learned what a silhouette is, and how we could create one using cutouts like artist Kara Walker. Using black paper, the students drew their own cityscape skyline with white pencils and carefully cut them out.
The last step was to glue down the paper cutout on top of their skylines. Below are some examples:
