Emotive Self Portrait Lesson- 3rd Grade Visual Art

Emotive self portrait lesson using contour and complementary colors. Students will be able to explain which simplified portrait details they selected. Color Theory is discussed, including use of color to indicate emotions. Picasso and Van Gogh are referred to in the presentation.

1. Emotive
Self Portrait
Sarah Bailey
(3rd Grade)

2. Illinois Social Emotional Learning
Standards Addressed
1A.1a. Recognize and accurately label emotions and how they are linked to behavior.
1A.1b. Demonstrate Control of Impulsive Behavior
2A.1a. Recognize that others may experience situations differently from oneself
2A. 1b. Use listening skills to identify the feelings and perspectives of others
2B.1a. Describe the ways that people are similar and different
2B.1b Describe positive qualities in others

3. Illinois Culturally Responsive Teaching and
Leading Standards
A Self-Awareness and Relationships to Others. The teacher will…..
1. Understand and value the notion that multiple lived experiences exist, that there
is often not one "correct" way of doing or understanding something, and that what is
seen as "correct" is most often based on our lived experiences.
2. Approach their work and students with an asset-based mindset, affirming the
validity of the students’ backgrounds and identities.
4. Include representative, familiar content in the curriculum to legitimize students’
backgrounds, while also exposing them to new ideas and worldviews different from
their own.
6. Explore their own intersecting identities, how they were developed, and how they
impact daily experience of the world..

4. Objectives
Students will be able to…

Identify facial differences through observational drawing and celebrate
differences
Create a contour drawing
Identify which colors relate to different emotions and use it in their work
Create a monochromatic painting
Identify complementary colors and use them in their work

5. Keywords
Contour
Emotive Color
Complementary Colors

6. Day 1
Students will create a contour
self portrait using small mirrors
in the classroom.

Watch brief video showing how
to do a contour drawing.

Engage students in
conversation about facial
differences. Everyone has
unique features which make
you, “you!”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v
=8qjPmbLYDck

7. Contour


Contour
drawing is
drawing the
lines on the
outside of a
shape,
essentially
simplifying
how we
represent an
object.

8. Portrait simple features


Here are several examples of simplified
portraiture features. If you do not
already have a particular style that you
use for drawing portraits, you can use
these guides to help you draw your face.

Keep in mind that these are just
examples. Your final work does not have
to match them exactly.

9. Day 2
Students will learn about how color is
related to emotion. Using acrylic
paint, they will paint their self
portrait using the color of their
chosen “feeling.” They will learn
about mixing white for highlights and
black for shading.

A small mixing palette will be done at
the start of class to get students
ready to paint.

10. Feeling Blue?


In his “Blue Period.” Pablo Picasso used the
color blue to convey an “emotive” or
emotional quality in his work, letting the
audience know he was “feeling blue.”

Which emotion are you feeling right now?
Is there an emotion that you feel more
often than others? Look at the next slide to
see which color is associated with your
emotion.

11. Emotive
Color
Different colors
can represent
different
emotional
(emotive)
responses.
“Emotive” is
similar to the
word “emoticon”

12. Day 3
Students will add a background to their
painting. They will have the option of
different patterns to choose from which
they feel represents them. The color will be
the complementary color of whichever
color they chose for their emotion on day 2.
Pairs: red and green, blue and orange,
purple and yellow.

Following is a brief explanation of
complementary color.

13. Complementary Color
Self-portraits
Vincent Van Gogh used
Complementary colors to show
emotion in his work.

In contrast with the blue, which is
more subdued, the orange is an
active color and makes the portrait
stand out on the page compared to
the background.

14. Complementary
Colors


Complementary colors are located
across from one another on the
color wheel. They work together to
create a dramatic effect in artwork.

The complementary color pairs are:
Blue and Orange
Red and Green
Yellow and Purple.

These pairs will be your choices for
this project.

15. Works Cited

1.Van Gogh Ahead and Make Your Mark, 2016.
https://drydenart.weebly.com/fugleblog/van-gogh-ahead-and-make-your-ma
rk
2.Yali Lin, How to Draw... a Self-Portrait (for Young Kids), 2021.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8qjPmbLYDck