Grade 7 Art: A Colour Study of Light and Dark Through The Group of Seven

The Grade 7 students worked on a colour observation exercise which recognizes the use of colour to establish light and dark within a painting. The Group of Seven in the 1920s were enamoured by the natural beauty in Northern Canada. The pristine lakes, trees, landscapes and rural Quebec scenes are depicted by their paintings en plein air which used bold colours for light and dark and creating impressionistic nature scenes. The biggest difference for the Grade 7 students was painting in watercolour while observing their Group of Seven painting done with oil paint. They effectively painted with watercolour, learning some wash techniques such as how to maintain white or very light, and composing the painting according to their own colour choices. The results were personally very satisfying.