Wow we have had a blast in 4th grade painting tropical landscapes with chalk. During this lesson we talk about foreground, middle and background and how to achieve depth on the 2D picture plane. We looked at the artist Vincent van Gogh and his landscapes with Cypress Trees and discussed the variables such as size, detail and color depending on an objects placement. This year we incorporated the tropical theme of our upcoming Grandparent's Day into our artwork. We painted the sky with swirls of color like van Gogh using the warm colors of a sunset. I placed small bowls of warm colored chalk pastel, small bowls of white paint and small bowls of water on each table. I demonstrate how to dip the chalk in a small amount of white paint and apply swirls to the paper sky. Once swirls of chalk are applied to the paper, a student dips a finger in the water and gently blends the sky continuing in the swirling motion. Next we cut mountains and using the same chalk technique we apply texture to the mountain tops in greens, yellows and browns. Then we cut a strip of white paper with a slight wave for the water, glue it down and add the texutre of water in the direction of the waves in shades of blues and purples. Last, I demonstrated the drawing and cutting of palm trees which are to be placed in the foreground and touch the bottom and top of the paper. After cutting and gluing down the trees, students add the highlight using white chalk on the black trees showing the reflection of the setting sun.