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Little Artists: Cezanne Apples
Art: a Visual History by Robert Cumming
I often look to this book by Robert Cumming for inspiration on these assignments. This is a wonderful book for general artist information. It is organized chronologically and categorized by art movement. Definitely worth picking up.
About Paul Cezanne
Paul Cezanne
Paul Cezanne was born in France in January of 1839. For a long time, his art was mis-understood. People even laughed at his work because it was different from what most artists were doing at the time. It was not until the end of his career that people started truly appreciating his work. Many great artists were inspired by Cezanne including Pablo Picasso.
Cezanne's style
Paul Cezanne was a post-impressionist painter. Impressionist painters believed paintings should reflect what the eye actually sees. Impressionist paintings are realistic. Post-impressionists believed art should be an expression of the artist’s emotions when looking at the subject. They embraced more of a creative and personal perspective in their paintings.
Cezanne features
Cezanne painted many different subjects. He painted landscapes, portraits, and still life paintings. He explored depth and perspective using color, short brush strokes, and dark outlines.
The art project - Cezanne apple still life
One of the kids’ favorite lessons has been the Cezanne apples. For one thing, I bring in apples for each student to use as their subject. Upon completion of the lesson, they are allowed to eat their apple. This tends to go over very well. The other bonus seems to be the mess factor.
Drawing chalk
In order to obtain the gradation of colors in the apples, I found drawing chalk to be the most successful medium. Please note that there is a difference between drawing chalk and sidewalk chalk. Drawing chalk contains a certain binder that helps it adhere to paper easier. It is definitely messy, but the results are fantastic.
Step 1- draw the apple
Select the black chalk and draw the outline of the apple. Tell the students that apples are not round, and they should examine the apple first before drawing.
Step 2 - color the apple
Color in the apple beginning with the darkest color first and working up to the lightest color last. Cezanne used short strokes to show texture. I also remind the kids that the strokes should follow the lines of the apple. Sideways strokes will not look great.
Side note: if there are parts of the apple with no color, leave them white. This will help with the three-dimensional look of the apple.
Step 3 - blending
Carefully blend the colors together using the same short strokes. I tell the kids that this is not a mixing of colors, but a blending of the edges of the colors. The goal is to make the lines between different colors softer, not to blend the colors so much that it creates one new color.
Step 4 - black line details
Have the kids clean their blending finger. Then, grab the black chalk again and make a little line at the top where the “dent” is for the stem. Gently blend the black line. Go back and lightly run their finger along the black outline as well. This will soften the line. Be careful not to smudge it which will make it too thick. If the apple has a stem, draw one in. This is a good time to clean off their fingers.
Step 5 - background
Cezanne always had a background to his drawings. There was never white space. At this point, grab one or two colors and use short strokes to color in the background. Blend the background gently. I suggest they leave a space between the apple and the background, simply to prevent the apple from getting smudged away or covered.
Step 6 - shadow
Now I tell the kids to look at the tabletop underneath the apple they are studying. I ask them to look for a shadow. Then, I ask them to take their black chalk again and make some light short strokes where the shadow is. Finally, blend the lines lightly to create a shadow.
This is a fun lesson to do with the kids. They seem to really enjoy blending the colors. Just be sure to have wipes on hand to clean their fingers…and their desks!